Johnny Depp’s return to Hollywood studio filmmaking in Ebenezer has become a popular move with movie audiences, despite lower Rotten Tomatoes scores. Depp returned to studio movies for the first time since 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, after which Warner Bros. replaced him in the franchise, and Depp took a hiatus from high-profile acting work. While Depp returned recently for the French film Jeanne du Barry, Ebenezer is his first attempt to make his return to a Hollywood film since the controversy that pushed him out.
It looks to be a huge success as well. Directed by Ti West (X, Pearl), Ebenezer is a horror-tinged adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and while critics were not as thrilled with it, audiences seem to be loving it. While it has a 53% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, Ebenezer has a 91% audience score, which is Verified Hot on the Popcornmeter. The Hollywood Reporter also reports that audiences gave it a 4.5 out of 5 on PostTrak, with 50 percent saying Johnny Depp was the reason they went to see the movie.
Johnny Depp's 'Ebenezer' Conjuring Up Box Office Victory in Star's Return to Studio Fare https://t.co/bmxEv1wupG
According to reports, 62% of the audience that saw Ebenezer in its Thursday night opening screenings was over 30. It received an A- CinemaScore from audiences, bucking the critics’ trend as well. It seems that audiences were ready to move on from Johnny Depp’s controversial past with Amber Heard, in which he was accused of abuse but then won a defamation lawsuit against her based on her accusations. It seemed like it would be hard for Depp to come back, even after winning his case against Heard. However, Paramount saw data suggesting that audiences wanted Depp back.
Ebenezer had made $6.7 million following its Friday screenings, which went along with the positive audience experience. The movie only had a $38 million budget, so things are looking good for the holiday horror movie. It also helps that Ebenezer has a PG-13 rating, allowing a larger audience than most of Ti West’s movies, and while its lower Rotten Tomatoes score seemed troubling, it seemed that audiences didn’t care and just wanted to see a new Depp movie on the big screen. THR‘s own review said that the movie restored Depp to A-list status.
Paramount expects Ebenezer to finish its opening weekend at around $20 million, and since it is a Christmas movie with positive audience reception, it is expected to have better legs than non-holiday releases. These numbers were actually higher than The Numbers had predicted, with them coming in about 28% more than expected. This could also be the huge news that will relaunch Johnny Depp’s career. There has been talk of Depp returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and if Ebenezer is any indication, this should be more likely now than it was before.
Have you been to see Ebenezer in theaters? Let us know your thoughts on the new Johnny Depp movie in the comments below.
