Johnny Depp's 'Ebenezer' tops North American box office, his first No. 1 in eight years

Johnny Depp's gothic Christmas film 'Ebenezer' topped the North American box office on Friday (November 13), taking $7.1 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday previews, and knocking last week's record-breaker 'Godzilla Minus Zero' off the top spot. It is Depp's first No. 1 film since 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' in 2018 — eight years ago.

Opening weekend tracking above $20 million

According to Deadline's box-office figures, 'Ebenezer' is tracking toward a domestic opening weekend above $20 million, with a similar figure expected from 63 international markets, for a worldwide opening of around $40 million. The film cost about $38 million to make and is playing in 3,535 theatres, including Dolby Cinema, 4DX and D-Box screens.

That puts it in line with Depp's previous non-franchise openers: 'Black Mass' debuted with $22.6 million in 2015, and 'Public Enemies' opened with $25.2 million in 2009.

Critics split, audiences warmer

Directed by Ti West and adapted from Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', the film stars Depp as the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley and others. Critics are split — around 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and 47 on Metacritic — while audiences have responded more warmly, giving it an A- CinemaScore and a 4.5-star PostTrak rating out of 5.

'Ebenezer' is Depp's first major Hollywood studio lead in eight years, and the first greenlight of Paramount's new management since the Skydance merger. It opened in North America and the UK, among other markets, on November 13. (Sources: Deadline, MovieWeb, Variety)