Johnny Depp is back in the spotlight, but is Ti West’s Ebenezer bringing pre-holiday cheer to the box office, or is it destined to be a Christmas goose? According to Deadline, Paramount and Skydance‘s Ebenezer collected $1.5M in previews on Thursday, with screenings beginning at 2 pm. The spooky reimagining of the classic tale by Charles Dickens marks Depp’s most significant return to the Hollywood spotlight after years of laying low, with the studios going above and beyond to promote the project ahead of its November release.
While $1.5M would set Bob Cratchit and his family up for life, the film hopes to gross $40M worldwide, split evenly between a $20M domestic opening and $20M from international markets. Whether the film will bring in a fair amount of coin from audiences remains to be seen. Ebenezer currently holds a rotten 52% on the Tomatometer, with critics being mostly divided about the film’s quality (read our review here). Some say it’s a return to form for Depp, while others think he ruins the movie. The film’s spooky vibes could turn off casual audiences, while others could delight in having a new Christmas movie that isn’t too saccharine.
Elsewhere, Sony’s Ghost Soldier, starring Jim Caviezel as a former Green Beret who protects his Wyoming neighbors against a ruthless corporation threatening their rural community, opened Wednesday with previews to $2.3M and posted another $800K yesterday for a $3.1M running total. Audiences are loving Caviezel’s new action romp, while some critics think it’s uninspired popcorn-munching fodder.
David Leitch’s How to Rob a Bank is off to a rough start with only $900K in previews that began yesterday at 4 pm. Analysts expect the film starring Nicholas Hoult and Zoë Kravitz to make single digits over the weekend, with the production reportedly costing $40 million.
Finally, Victorian Psycho goes wide this week, while Godzilla Minus Zero continues to stomp on the competition after its first week in theaters. With all that heavy artillery on the marquee, there’s a chance Warner Bros. Animation’s The Cat in the Hat could vanish from people’s list of cinematic priorities—which would be a real shame, as it’s actually quite good (read our review here).
Are you going to the movies this weekend? What do you plan to see? Let us know in the comments section below.