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Bah, humbug is back, and it’s spooky this time. Ebenezer, director Ti West’s dark reimagining of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, opens in theaters on Friday, November 13, 2026, with Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s Depp’s first major Hollywood studio release in eight years, and it may be the most closely watched comeback of the holiday season.
Watch the Ebenezer trailer
Paramount’s second trailer, released in early October, goes much darker than the first, showing Scrooge haunted by spectral figures and even a nightmarish sequence in which he appears to be buried alive. The marketing tagline sums up the pitch: you know the name, but not this version of the story.
What is Ebenezer about?
The basic story is the one everyone knows. A cold, wealthy miser in Victorian London is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, and then by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. What’s new is the treatment. West, best known for the horror trilogy X, Pearl and MaXXXine, is playing up the ghost-story roots of Dickens’ novella rather than the cozy holiday version. Nathaniel Halpern wrote the screenplay.
Ebenezer cast
- Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge
- Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley
- Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present
- Daisy Ridley, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Charlie Murphy in supporting roles
What are first reactions saying?
Early social reactions after press screenings have been especially warm toward Depp himself, with critics praising his transformation into a darker, more menacing Scrooge. Full reviews are landing this week, and Nerdism will round them up once the embargo lifts.
Why Ebenezer matters for Johnny Depp
Depp’s last major studio film was Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018. Since then, his career was overshadowed by his highly publicized legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, and his recent work has mostly been independent and European films.
Paramount has clearly embraced the comeback angle. The studio sent Depp, in full Scrooge costume, to San Diego Comic-Con this summer to shout “humbug” at fans, and the first trailer ended with Scrooge saying it’s good to be back. Puck reported the film’s budget at roughly $40 million, which keeps the risk manageable for the studio.
Depp already has his next project lined up: Lionsgate’s thriller Day Drinker, set for March 2027.
Competition this weekend
Ebenezer opens against holdovers led by Godzilla Minus Zero, which just opened at No. 1, and family audiences still turning out for The Cat in the Hat. Next week brings The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, so a strong opening weekend will matter.
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Sources: Hypebeast, JoBlo, Puck, UPI, Paramount Pictures.