The Ebenezer movie is Johnny Depp’s first major studio leading role in nearly eight years, and it’s already out in theaters. Here’s everything confirmed about “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” — release date, full cast, plot, and how reviews have actually landed now that critics have seen it.
Ebenezer Movie Release Date
“Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” opened in North American theaters on November 13, 2026, distributed by Paramount Pictures in more than 3,500 locations. It marks Johnny Depp’s first wide studio release since 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
What Is Ebenezer About?
Director Ti West — best known for the horror trilogy “X,” “Pearl,” and “MaXXXine” — reimagines Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” as a darker, more overtly supernatural take on the familiar ghost story. The basic shape of the plot is unchanged: a miserly old man is confronted over one night by the ghosts of his past, present, and future, forced to reckon with the life he’s lived before it’s too late to change course. What’s different is the visual register — West filters that structure through horror-film staging rather than the gentler, more sentimental tone most “Christmas Carol” adaptations go for.
Ebenezer Movie Cast
Johnny Depp leads as Ebenezer Scrooge, with Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit and Sam Claflin as Fred. The three ghosts are played by Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Daisy Ridley as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Charlie Murphy round out the supporting cast. The screenplay is written by Nathaniel Halpern. For a closer look at the film’s first footage, see our Ebenezer trailer breakdown.
Ebenezer Reviews: What Critics Are Saying
Reviews are genuinely split. “Ebenezer” has landed in the low 50s on Rotten Tomatoes — one tracking snapshot put it at 50%, among the lowest scores of any “Christmas Carol” adaptation, while a later count had it closer to 54% as more reviews came in — and it holds a 7.1/10 on IMDb. Critics broadly agree on what’s working: the gothic atmosphere, the production design, and a handful of genuine scares. Where they split is on Depp’s performance itself — some reviewers call his Scrooge riveting, others find it cartoonish, and several note the film’s pacing drags between its stronger horror setpieces. The Hollywood Reporter’s review roundup has the fuller critical picture if you want more than the aggregate score.
Is Ebenezer Worth Watching?
If you’re going in for Ti West’s horror sensibility applied to a very familiar story, there’s a real case for it — the atmosphere and ghost sequences are the parts reviews consistently single out as effective. If you’re hoping for a warmer, more traditional holiday adaptation, this isn’t that film, and the mixed-to-negative critical consensus reflects a real split in how audiences are likely to respond to Depp’s exaggerated take on Scrooge. For how the film is actually performing commercially against this weekend’s other new releases, see our Weekend Box Office Preview for November 13-15.
How Ebenezer Compares to Past Christmas Carol Films
“A Christmas Carol” has been adapted dozens of times, most memorably by Michael Caine in “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and Albert Finney in 1970’s “Scrooge,” both of which hold considerably higher critical reputations than this version has landed with so far. What sets this adaptation apart isn’t the story itself, which Ti West and screenwriter Nathaniel Halpern leave structurally intact, but the decision to lean into the ghost story’s inherent horror potential rather than treating the hauntings as a gentle moral device. That’s a genuinely different interpretive choice than most prior versions have made, even if reviews suggest the execution hasn’t fully won over critics the way West’s horror trilogy did.
When does the Ebenezer movie release?
“Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” opened in theaters on November 13, 2026, distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Who plays Scrooge in the Ebenezer movie?
Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge, in his first major studio leading role since 2018.
What is the Rotten Tomatoes score for Ebenezer?
Early tracking has placed the film in the low 50s on Rotten Tomatoes, with scores cited between 50% and 54% depending on the review count at the time of the snapshot.
For the latest confirmed numbers as they come in, see our Ebenezer box office tracker.
