Quick summary
- Johnny Depp stars as Scrooge in Ebenezer, Ti West’s take on A Christmas Carol, which reaches cinemas on 13 November.
- The Hollywood Reporter says Paramount projects a US$20 million North American opening and another US$20 million overseas.
- Critics are split: Entertainment Weekly reports 50 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and 47/100 on Metacritic.
- The Sydney Morning Herald reports a budget of about US$38 million, which lowers the bar for a profit.
The Johnny Depp Ebenezer comeback arrives this weekend, and the numbers around it say a lot about how cautiously Hollywood is treating his return. Paramount’s Ebenezer, a horror-tinged version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, is the actor’s first major studio role in nearly a decade, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
What Paramount is forecasting
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ebenezer opens in more than 3,500 North American locations. The studio projects US$20 million at the domestic box office and a further US$20 million internationally. That would likely put it first for the weekend, because the only other major release, David Leitch’s How to Rob a Bank, is eyeing a high single-digit opening against a US$40 million budget.
The Herald puts Ebenezer’s production cost at around US$38 million and reports that Depp was paid roughly US$5 million. For context, The Hollywood Reporter notes he once collected a reported US$50 million and beyond, including backend, for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels and 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. A modest budget means the film does not need to be a blockbuster to be counted a success.
A marketing plan built around the character
Both outlets point to the same tactic. Depp promoted the film largely in character, appearing as Scrooge at San Diego Comic-Con in July and at a New York park earlier this month, where the Herald says he knocked over a Christmas tree and heckled carol singers.
Sarah Scales, a Swinburne University researcher in celebrity and fan studies, told the Herald that the approach keeps attention on the role rather than on personal questions. Brian J. Robb, author of a 1996 Depp biography, told The Hollywood Reporter it also works as a form of protection for the star. Depp did take part in a conventional junket, speaking to outlets including Collider and CBS Mornings. At the London premiere, asked by the Associated Press about his absence from Hollywood films, he said, “There was a bit of a vacation, which is fine.”
Nostalgia is the real wager
The Hollywood Reporter quotes Stanford researcher Adrian Daub, who studied millions of YouTube comments about Depp’s 2022 defamation trial with Amber Heard. He found that many commenters were driven less by case facts than by fondness for Depp’s early-2000s roles, with frequent mentions of Captain Jack Sparrow. Daub also suggested international audiences may be readier to move on, and that the studio is likely banking on both.
The backstory is well documented. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Warner Bros. removed Depp from the Fantastic Beasts series in 2018 after he lost a libel suit against the publisher of The Sun. He won the 2022 defamation case against Heard and has denied abuse allegations. People reports that the jury also found him liable on one count in Heard’s countersuit, and that the two settled in December 2022.
What the critics say
The reviews are the main risk. Entertainment Weekly counted 70 reviews at the time of writing, with most positive ones landing around 6 out of 10. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich was harsh on the performance, while Vulture’s Alison Wilmore found the film “pretty good” apart from its lead.
There are kinder voices. Variety’s Guy Lodge called Depp a “perfectly solid” Scrooge, and The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck wrote that the film restores him to A-list status. Several critics, Lodge among them, also warned it is too frightening for many children. That matters for a title released in the family-heavy Christmas window.
The man behind the role
In a Wall Street Journal feature published on 10 November, summarised by People, Depp said he moved roughly 40 times as a child and now lives mostly in the Bahamas, where he bought a 1940s wooden house in 2004. “It’s where I’ve found total peace and quiet,” he said. For a deeper look at the critical response, see our reports on the first reviews and the opening-weekend forecast.
What happens next
The first real answer comes with the opening-weekend figures. Beyond that, Depp is cast in the thriller Day Drinker with Penélope Cruz, due next year, according to the Herald. The paper adds that producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently expressed interest in featuring him in a possible sixth Pirates film. Whether either goes ahead is not confirmed. More coverage is collected on our Johnny Depp page and in the Movies section.
Frequently asked questions
When is Ebenezer in cinemas?
It opens in North America on Friday 13 November, according to The Hollywood Reporter and People.
Who directed Ebenezer?
Ti West, best known for the X trilogy, directed it from a screenplay by Nathaniel Halpern, according to Collider.
How has Ebenezer been reviewed?
Reviews are mixed. Entertainment Weekly reports 50 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and 47/100 on Metacritic.
How much did Ebenezer cost to make?
The Sydney Morning Herald reports about US$38 million.
