For the first time since 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” Johnny Depp is returning to the big screen in a major Hollywood film with Paramount’s “Ebenezer.” His darkly comedic new version of “A Christmas Carol” grossed $1.5 million in box office previews.
“Ebenezer,” directed by Ti West, is expected to release with $20 million domestically and another $20 million overseas. Paramount spent $38 million to produce the version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, plus another $50 million to market it, and it will need the adoration of die-hard Depp fans to propel it through the holiday season.
Depp withdrew from Hollywood during his domestic violence trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, but he was still filming independent and international films abroad. He stayed busy with the 2020 drama “Minamata,” the 2023 period piece “Jeanne du Barry” and he directed the 2024 biopic “Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness.” “Ebenezer” is his first major Hollywood film in eight years since “Fantastic Beasts” (Warner Bros. replaced him with Mads Mikkelsen in the third film, “Dumbledore’s Secrets”). Next, he will star in Lionsgate’s revenge thriller “Day Drinker” with Madelyn Cline and Penelope Cruz, which hits theaters in March.
The Ebenezer cast also includes Rupert Grint as Scrooge’s clerk Bob Cratchit, Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Andrew Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as Christmas Present, and Robert Strange as Christmas Yet to Come.
Sony’s new action film, “Ghost Soldier,” starring Jim Caviezel, grossed $3.1 million in its Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday previews. It is expected to gross $6 million during its five-day opening weekend.
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