Johnny Depp Returns to Studio Films in Paramount's $38 Million Ebenezer as Box Office Looms
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Nov 12
Johnny Depp Returns to Studio Films in Paramount's $38 Million Ebenezer as Box Office Looms
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Nov 12
Summary
Paramount releases Johnny Depp's first studio film since his legal battles with Amber Heard on November 13, casting him as Scrooge in Ti West's "Ebenezer."
The comeback push is unusually explicit: the trailer declares "the master of misfits returns," while Depp says, "It's good to be back," making his rehabilitation part of the film's marketing.
Box Office Theory projects a $22 million opening and more than $100 million domestic total against a reported $38 million budget, while a Paramount test screening gave Depp an 86 score versus a 67 norm for leads.
The strategy leans on Depp's still-vocal fan base and heavy prosthetic makeup that keeps him "in disguise," even as critics argue centering his return risks undercutting Hollywood's post-#MeToo reform claims.
If "Ebenezer" lands, it could cement Depp's broader Hollywood re-entry ahead of 2027 thriller "Day Drinker" and a relaunched "Pirates of the Caribbean" project that producer Jerry Bruckheimer says would bring him back.