Redemption Sells: 'Ebenezer' Takes No. 1 With $19 Million, Giving Johnny Depp His First Box Office Win in Eight Years

The oldest redemption story on the Christmas shelf has given Hollywood a redemption story of its own. "Ebenezer," Paramount's new take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" with Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge, opened at No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $19 million from 3,535 theaters, according to studio estimates reported Sunday by the Associated Press and Variety.

It is Depp's first No. 1 opening in eight years, and the film is his first studio movie in that span, the AP reported. Overseas, "Ebenezer" added $23 million from 63 markets, for a worldwide debut of $42 million.

The opening landed a little below the forecasts. Deadline reported that the film came in under the $20 million mark where tracking had placed it, and Boxoffice Pro said the result fell just south of its own projections.

Still, the math favors the studio. The AP reported that the film was made for a reported $38 million, a figure its worldwide start has already passed. IndieWire called the domestic opening modest but argued the movie can turn a profit if it keeps drawing audiences through the holidays and holds up overseas. Deadline framed the weekend against a backdrop of moviegoers who are watching what they spend.

Audiences liked what they saw. Deadline reported that the film earned an A- from CinemaScore, the survey of opening-night audiences that studios watch as an early signal of word of mouth. That kind of grade matters for a Christmas title, which can keep playing for weeks as families look for something to see together between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

The daily figures show steady traffic rather than a one-night rush. Boxoffice Pro reported the film took in $6.7 million on Friday, including $1.5 million from Thursday previews, then $7.2 million on Saturday and an estimated $5.1 million on Sunday.

For Depp, the weekend closes a long chapter. Boxoffice Pro noted that his last No. 1 opener was "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" in 2018, which debuted to $62.2 million. The AP reported that fallout from his contentious libel trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, had left his future in Hollywood in jeopardy.

Whatever one makes of the courtroom spectacle of recent years, there is something fitting about the role that brought him back to the top of the chart. Scrooge is the story of a hard and lonely man who is shown the truth about his life, is given a second chance and wakes on Christmas morning resolved to live differently. It is a story about conscience, repentance and grace, and it has never needed to be rewritten for the times to move an audience. Dickens wrote it in 1843, and families are still lining up for it.

That is worth noticing in an industry that has spent years assuming audiences want irony instead of sincerity. A plainspoken Christmas tale, released two weeks before Thanksgiving, beat every other picture in the country on its first weekend.

Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" from Warner Bros. held second place with $11.4 million, according to Gold Derby. "Godzilla Minus Zero" slid to third with $8.3 million after a 75% drop in its second weekend, Gold Derby reported.

The weekend's other major new release struggled. Variety reported that the heist picture "How to Rob a Bank" stumbled with a debut of about $5 million.

The real test for "Ebenezer" is how long it holds. A Christmas movie that families like can build through the season, picking up church groups, school-break outings and multigenerational trips to the theater as December nears. With a worldwide start that already tops its reported budget and an audience grade in the A range, the film has given itself a chance to do just that.

For moviegoers who have grown tired of being lectured at the multiplex, the message from this weekend is encouraging. When Hollywood tells an old story about a sinner who finds mercy, and tells it straight, people show up. Liberty Bell Report will keep an eye on how "Ebenezer" fares as the holiday season gets underway.