Variety reports that actor Johnny Depp’s deal for “Ebenezer” includes a $5 million salary and bonuses tied to box-office performance. The film is set to open in cinemas on Friday.
The trade publication detailed the arrangement in a November 10 report examining expectations for Depp’s return to a major Hollywood studio role. Furthermore, his upfront fee is smaller than what he earned from previous studio films.
Paramount spent approximately $38 million on production and around $50 million on marketing, the account says. The studio declined to comment on those figures.
Early tracking points to an opening of about $20 million in the United States and Canada. A similar total is expected from 63 overseas markets. Those figures are projections, not ticket sales.
Director Ti West, known for the “X” horror trilogy, casts Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge in a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.
Ghosts confront the miser with his past, present and future. Paramount’s cast includes Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley and Ian McKellen.
Cinema operators offered differing assessments of the film’s prospects. Mark O’Meara, who runs theatres in Fairfax, Virginia, described enthusiasm among some customers and indifference among others.
Regal chief executive Eduardo Acuna expressed optimism about the combination of Depp, the character and West’s approach. Meanwhile, Classic Cinemas chief executive Chris Johnson argued that the film’s appeal would depend on whether audiences found this version compelling.
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An April study by the National Research Group placed Depp among the top 10 actors most likely to interest respondents in seeing a film in cinemas. That ranking measures audience interest, not demand for this particular release.
“Ebenezer” is Depp’s first major Hollywood studio role since 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”. His subsequent work includes “Minamata” (2020) and “Jeanne du Barry” (2023).
He directed “Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness” in 2024. Paramount lists “Ebenezer” for theatrical release on Friday, November 13.
