Johnny Depp’s Ebenezer Tops US Box Office With $7.1M Friday
Johnny Depp is back at No. 1. His gothic retelling of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer, took $7.1 million on Friday to lead the North American box office, putting the actor atop the chart for the first time since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018.
The Paramount release, directed by Ti West, opened in 3,535 theatres on Friday 13 November and is now pacing towards a domestic opening north of $20 million, according to Deadline, with a similar figure expected from 63 international markets — a worldwide start of around $40 million.
A comeback measured in dollars
The Friday total included $1.5 million from Thursday previews, which began at 2pm. That opening day was enough to dethrone Godzilla Minus Zero, which had led the chart since its record-breaking debut the previous weekend.
For Depp, the numbers carry weight beyond the weekend. Ebenezer is his first major Hollywood leading role since 2022, and the film is the first big greenlight of Paramount’s new leadership since last year’s Skydance merger. The studio is reported to have spent $38 million on production, with Depp taking a reported $5 million salary tied to performance-based bonuses, according to Variety. Neither figure has been confirmed by the studio, and both should be treated as reported estimates.
The opening also lands in line with Depp’s earlier non-franchise releases. Black Mass debuted with $22.6 million in 2015, while Public Enemies opened with $25.2 million in 2009. A finish above $20 million would put Ebenezer in the same company, without the help of an established franchise.
What the Friday numbers say
Ebenezer is a PG-13, 116-minute reimagining of the Dickens classic, with Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge alongside Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley and Andrea Riseborough. The Friday the 13th launch date was deliberate: a ghost story opening on the most superstitious date of the year.
Critics are split on the result. The film debuted at around 50 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, with a Metacritic score of 47, suggesting a divided response rather than a rout. For a film whose opening depends heavily on curiosity about its star, that may matter less than the turnout itself. As MovieWeb reported, the Friday figures show audiences turning up in numbers the trade had projected, with presales tracking almost exactly on the forecast line.
The competition behind it
The rest of the chart tells the story of a crowded November. Godzilla Minus Zero, the previous weekend’s No. 1, took between $2.1 million and $2.4 million on its second Friday and is heading for an $8 million second weekend — a steep fall of around 74 per cent, taking its ten-day total to roughly $48.5 million.
The Cat in the Hat took $2.9 million on its second Friday and is pacing towards a $12 million weekend, which would lift its total to $38.7 million by Sunday. The family film had claimed its first day at No. 1 on Wednesday, a Veterans Day holiday, before Ebenezer arrived to reset the chart.
Sony’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend took $1.4 million on its second Friday and is heading for a $5 million weekend, taking its running total to $23.6 million. The wider market has been buoyant for weeks: The Odyssey recently passed $1.17 billion worldwide to become Universal’s biggest international release.
Mixed reviews, bigger questions
Whether Ebenezer holds beyond its opening weekend will depend on word of mouth, and the mixed critical reception leaves that an open question. What is already clear is that the film has delivered the result Paramount needed from its first weekend: the top spot, a $20 million-plus opening in sight, and a credible case that Depp can still open a film.
The result is also being watched beyond Paramount. Variety has reported that Disney is monitoring Ebenezer and the audience response as it considers whether to bring Depp back for a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film. A strong opening would not settle that question, but a weak one would probably have ended it.
Final weekend figures, which will confirm whether the $20 million projection holds, are due on Monday. All figures cited here are trade estimates and may be revised.
