Johnny Depp's Scrooge Opens Nov. 13 With a $40 Million Forecast Across Markets
Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge in "Ebenezer," a new take on "A Christmas Carol" that opens on Nov. 13. Early tracking, the industry's advance forecast based on ticket interest, points to a debut of about $20 million in the United States and Canada, and another $20 million overseas from 63 markets, according to Variety.
The film is a Paramount production, and the studio spent $38 million to make it. Marketing, the advertising and promotion that gets people into seats, came to around $50 million. Put together, those two figures show how much a film must earn in cinemas before its backers see a profit.
Depp's own pay is tied to the result. He was paid $5 million for the role, with bonuses linked to how the film performs at the box office, Variety reports. A bonus of that kind rises as ticket sales climb.
Depp has been away from big studio releases for some time. His last Hollywood film before this one was 2018's "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald." In 2020, Warner Bros. moved to remove him from the series after he lost a libel case against The Sun newspaper in the United Kingdom. Since then he has appeared in the 2020 drama "Minamata" and the 2023 period piece "Jeanne du Barry," and he directed the 2024 biopic "Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness."
Audience interest is another measure. An April 2026 study by the National Research Group, which asks moviegoers which actors would make them most keen to see a new film in a cinema, placed Depp among its top 10. He ranked ahead of Tom Hanks and behind Margot Robbie, according to Variety.
Depp also made a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con dressed as Ebenezer. Outside film, Variety reports he still holds a $20 million brand deal with the fashion house Dior.
His next film is already on the schedule. Lionsgate's 2027 action thriller "Day Drinker" co-stars Penélope Cruz. For now, the question for Paramount is simple: whether the Christmas-season crowd turns out in the numbers the early forecasts suggest.
