Johnny Depp’s big-screen comeback is almost here — and the box office numbers are moving in the right direction. Ebenezer, Ti West’s dark new take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, opens in theatres on Friday, 13 November, and early tracking now puts its opening weekend at $20 million to $23 million, with around $1.5 million expected from Thursday previews.
The film marks Depp’s first major studio role in nearly eight years. He plays the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, a part that Paramount has put at the centre of its marketing — including a Comic-Con appearance in which Depp, in character, greeted passers-by in San Diego. The latest trailer leans into the comeback itself, with Depp telling the camera directly: “It’s good to be back.”
A cast built for the holiday crowd
Depp is joined by Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Ti West, best known for his X horror trilogy, directs — a choice that signals this will be a darker, moodier telling of the Dickens classic than the usual family-friendly versions.
The reported budget works in the film’s favour. With Depp said to have taken a smaller salary than in his prime — around $5 million, according to Variety — the film’s net budget is reported at $38 million, well below the $50–60 million price tags of some of his 2010s flops such as Mortdecai and Black Mass. If the tracking holds, the opening weekend alone would cover more than half of that budget.
A crowded weekend at the box office
Ebenezer will not have the weekend to itself. David Leitch’s heist thriller How to Rob a Bank opens in the same frame, but forecasters currently see Depp’s Scrooge as the frontrunner, with one predicting it will take the top spot. Box Office Theory’s domestic opening-weekend forecast range sits at $20 million to $27 million, while traditional studio tracking sits at $20 million, and some forecasts put the film’s full domestic run as high as $140 million.
Whether the comeback lands will be decided by Friday night’s numbers. But after years away from major studio films, Depp is back in the spotlight — and the holiday season has its first big test of star power.
It has been a busy week for big-screen news — from the record-breaking opening of Godzilla Minus Zero to the trailer for Danny Boyle’s Ink — and Ebenezer now joins a crowded end-of-year slate.
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.