Ebenezer Opens at No. 1 With $19 Million: 12 Box Office Takeaways From 13 to 15 November

By the Filmoria News Desk

Ebenezer, Ti West’s gothic take on A Christmas Carol starring Johnny Depp as Scrooge, opened at No. 1 at the North American box office on 13 to 15 November 2026 with an estimated $19 million from 3,535 cinemas. That’s just under the $20 million to $25 million most trackers expected, for a film with a reported $38 million production budget. Paramount released it in UK and Irish cinemas on the same day, Friday 13 November 2026, and the first UK figures arrive on Tuesday.

UK and Ireland box office top 10, 6 to 8 November 2026

Source: Comscore, via 25th Frame’s UK top 15. “Not confirmed” means the distributor wasn’t listed in the published chart we could verify.

This is a ranked list of the 12 biggest takeaways from the North American box office weekend of 13 to 15 November 2026, led by Ebenezer’s No. 1 opening, with the latest confirmed UK and Ireland chart alongside it.

We’ve put Ebenezer first and split it into its parts (the opening, the money, Johnny Depp and Ti West), then worked down the rest of the chart by significance rather than strictly by gross, and finished with the overall market and next weekend. All dollar figures are Sunday studio estimates as published by The Numbers, so expect small changes when Monday’s actuals come in.

1. Ebenezer (2026, Paramount)

What makes it stand out: Johnny Depp’s first major-studio film in eight years went straight to No. 1, beating a second-weekend Dr. Seuss film by more than $7 million.

Key data: An estimated $19 million from 3,535 cinemas between 13 and 15 November 2026, including $6.7 million on Friday, for a per-cinema average of roughly $5,400.

Why it matters: Paramount bet that audiences would turn up for Depp in a dark, gothic Dickens adaptation, and on the most basic measure, winning the weekend, the bet paid off.

Let’s start with what went right. Ebenezer opened in a crowded slot, with The Cat in the Hat still playing to families, Godzilla Minus Zero in its second weekend, and two other new wide releases chasing adults. It beat all of them, comfortably. Nothing else on the chart made more than $11.4 million.

The Friday number tells you a little about who went. $6.7 million on day one, turning into $19 million across three days, is a multiple of about 2.8. That’s a fairly normal shape for a film with a curious, slightly older crowd, and it isn’t the steep, fan-only front-loading you’d see from a horror sequel.

The cast helped widen the net. Alongside Depp, Paramount’s marketing leaned on Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin and Trammell Tillman, and the tagline, “The name you know, the story you don’t”, sold it as something other than the umpteenth straight retelling. Depp turned up at San Diego Comic-Con in character as Scrooge back in July, and the film’s whole campaign was built around him.

It also opened a week before The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which was always going to take most of the oxygen. Paramount needed this weekend to itself, and it got it.

2. Ebenezer vs Tracking and Budget (2026, Paramount)

What makes it stand out: It won the weekend but landed just under almost every published forecast.

Key data: Box Office Theory projected $17 million to $24 million, BoxOfficePro’s weekend preview had $20 million to $25 million (down from a long-range $25 million to $35 million), and TheWrap had about $20 million; the reported net budget is $38 million, with about $50 million reported for marketing.

Why it matters: A No. 1 opening reads well in headlines, but whether Ebenezer makes money depends on December, not this weekend.

So is $19 million good? It’s fine. It isn’t the breakout some of the more excitable pre-release coverage suggested, and in the run-up Koimoi was openly asking whether the film could challenge November opening records. That was never realistic. The more serious trackers clustered around $20 million, and Ebenezer came in a fraction below them.

The cost side is where it looks better. TheWrap reported a net production budget of $38 million, well below what Depp’s mid-2010s star vehicles cost. Mortdecai and Black Mass both carried budgets in the $50 million to $60 million range. Taking half your production budget back in three days, domestically, before overseas money is counted, is a reasonable start.

Marketing is the catch. A reported $50 million campaign means Paramount has spent close to $90 million before cinemas take their share. TheWrap expected a similar-sized launch overseas, and the film opened in South Korea on 11 November, two days ahead of the US. Those international figures haven’t been published yet.

The calendar is the film’s friend, though. Christmas films don’t behave like normal releases. They keep playing deep into December, and the closer it gets to 25 December, the more relevant a Scrooge story becomes. If word of mouth is decent, a multiple of three or four times the opening isn’t out of the question. That would put it somewhere around $60 million to $75 million domestically. If it isn’t, Sunrise on the Reaping and the rest of the holiday slate will push it aside quickly.

3. Johnny Depp’s Comeback (2026, Paramount)

What makes it stand out: It’s Depp’s first major-studio film in eight years, his last being Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018.

Key data: Depp reportedly took about $5 million to play Scrooge, a fraction of what he earned at his peak, when the 2006 to 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean films and Alice in Wonderland grossed more than $4 billion between them.

Why it matters: Hollywood has been waiting to see whether audiences would still buy tickets for Depp after his very public legal fights, and this is the first real answer.

His track record before the break was already patchy, and it’s worth remembering that. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides made $1.04 billion worldwide in 2011. After that came The Lone Ranger, which took about $260 million worldwide on a $225 million budget, then Transcendence ($103 million worldwide), Mortdecai ($37.3 million on a $60 million budget) and Black Mass ($99 million). Alice Through the Looking Glass made $276 million on a $170 million budget. Even the last Pirates film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, fell to $794.8 million.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald took $655 million worldwide in 2018, down from the first film’s $816 million, and Warner Bros. replaced Depp with Mads Mikkelsen for the third instalment. Since then he’s worked mostly in Europe, including the French period drama Jeanne du Barry.

Against that history, a $19 million No. 1 for a $38 million film is a sensible result. Paramount kept the budget down, reportedly kept Depp’s fee down (with bonuses tied to box office), and wrapped him in a genre director and a well-known story. Variety’s pre-release reporting described cinema owners as optimistic, and they’ll be pleased enough with this.

Lionsgate has Depp’s next film, Day Drinker, with Penélope Cruz, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said Depp has discussed a return as Jack Sparrow with Disney. Ebenezer’s long-term run will shape both conversations.

4. Ti West and A Christmas Carol at the Box Office (2026, Paramount)

What makes it stand out: Ti West’s first studio film made close to his last film’s whole box office run in three days.

Key data: MaXXXine, which closed West’s X trilogy for A24 in 2024, made about $22 million in total; Disney’s motion-capture A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey opened to about $30.1 million in November 2009.

Why it matters: West has moved from A24’s low-budget horror world into a studio tentpole slot, and $19 million gives him a strong case for doing it again.

West made his name on small, controlled horror films. The Innkeepers and The House of the Devil were cult favourites long before X and Pearl, made back to back in New Zealand, turned him into one of A24’s most reliable names. MaXXXine completed the trilogy with Mia Goth, and SlashFilm described it as ending things on a strong box office note, with roughly $22 million in total.

Ebenezer is a different scale. It’s his first film for a major studio, his biggest budget by some distance and the first one built around a global star. That he got a No. 1 out of it at the first attempt says plenty about how much studios now trust horror directors with older material.

The obvious comparison is Robert Zemeckis’s A Christmas Carol for Disney. That opened to about $30.1 million in early November 2009, with 3D ticket prices helping, and went on to more than $135 million domestically. Ebenezer started about a third lower, which isn’t bad for a darker, less family-friendly version. Most screen Scrooges, from Alastair Sim to Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol and Patrick Stewart on TV, were made for the whole family. This one is aimed at adults first, and that naturally caps the opening.

5. Godzilla Minus Zero (2026, GKIDS / Toho)

What makes it stand out: Last weekend’s record-breaker fell 73% in its second weekend, the steepest drop in the top 10.

Key data: About $8.31 million from 3,246 cinemas, down from a revised $30.5 million opening (Monday’s actuals came in below the $31.6 million Sunday estimate), for a domestic total of $48.9 million.

Why it matters: The record opening is safe, but the drop shows how much of the audience turned up on day one, and it makes overtaking Godzilla Minus One’s total a slower job than it looked a week ago.

A week ago, Godzilla Minus Zero had the biggest North American opening ever for a live-action, non-English-language film, beating the $17.8 million Jet Li’s Hero took in 2004. We covered that in our Godzilla Minus Zero record-opening takeaways. This weekend is the other side of a fan-driven launch.

Drops of 70% or more usually mean an audience rushed out early. Minus Zero had $6.7 million from Thursday previews alone and took about 40% of its opening from IMAX screens. That’s a lot of eager, premium-paying fans, and those are exactly the people who don’t come back the following week. Its A CinemaScore didn’t translate into a soft second-weekend fall.

It’s not a disaster. $48.9 million in ten days is already close to the roughly $56 million Godzilla Minus One made in its entire domestic run, and it’ll pass that in the next week or two. The question now is whether it reaches $65 million or so, or fades fast once Sunrise on the Reaping takes its premium screens on Friday. We gave it 4/5 in our Godzilla Minus Zero review.

In the UK, Anime Limited’s release opened third on 6 to 8 November with £1,391,128, behind Ramayana and Wild Horse Nine. Its second-weekend UK number arrives on Tuesday.

6. The Cat in the Hat (2026, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation)

What makes it stand out: After a soft start, Warner Bros.’ Dr. Seuss film held well and climbed back to No. 2.

Key data: About $11.4 million in its second weekend, down 43%, from 4,003 cinemas, for a domestic total of $38.2 million.

Why it matters: A gentle drop is exactly what Warner Bros. needed after the lowest opening for any big-screen Seuss adaptation.

The Cat in the Hat opened to about $20.5 million last weekend, well below The Grinch, The Lorax and even Mike Myers’ 2003 live-action version. A 43% fall is a decent hold for an animated family film in its second weekend, and that’s the most encouraging sign it’s had so far.

Friday showed it best. The Cat in the Hat took $2.5 million on Friday 13 November, up 255% on Thursday. Saturday matinées do the heavy lifting for films like this, and an A CinemaScore last week suggested families who saw it liked it.

It’s on track for something like $70 million to $80 million domestically if it keeps holding through Thanksgiving, which still wouldn’t match any of the previous Seuss films. Warner Bros. UK releases it in UK and Irish cinemas on 4 December 2026.

7. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend (2026, India / Sony Pictures)

What makes it stand out: India’s most expensive film ever made held better than any other film in the top four, and it topped the UK chart a week ago.

Key data: About $5.5 million in North America, down 38%, from just 1,110 cinemas, for $24.1 million to date; in the UK and Ireland it opened at No. 1 on 6 to 8 November with £2,148,158.

Why it matters: It’s doing better business per screen than almost anything around it, and in Britain it beat every Hollywood film on its opening weekend.

Look at the cinema counts and Ramayana is the most efficient film in the top five. Ebenezer needed 3,535 cinemas for $19 million. Ramayana took $5.5 million from 1,110, an average of about $5,000 a cinema, not far behind the new No. 1.

The UK number is the story for British readers. £2.1 million is a big opening for any Indian release here, and it put Ramayana ahead of Wild Horse Nine and Godzilla Minus Zero. The film plays in Hindi and English versions, which widens its audience beyond the usual diaspora crowd, and it opened during Diwali week.

Sony is handling the film in North America, and its official trailers run on Sony Pictures’ channels. With a second part already planned, these international numbers matter a great deal. Passing $25 million domestically next weekend looks very likely.

8. You Can See Everything (2026, A24)

What makes it stand out: The Elizabeth Holmes documentary is still in the top five a month after release, and it’s now just $30 million short of the all-time record for a non-concert, non-nature documentary.

Key data: About $5.47 million in its fifth weekend, down 35%, from 1,845 cinemas, for a domestic total of about $89 million, against a reported budget of around $7 million.

Why it matters: Every weekend it stays in the top five makes $100 million look more realistic, which would be extraordinary for a documentary.

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s film opened at No. 1 over Halloween, which we covered in our Halloween weekend box office takeaways, and it’s barely slowed down since. A 35% fall in week five, with a crowded chart around it, is a better hold than every other film in the top 10 apart from Wild Horse Nine.

Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 holds the record with about $119 million in 2004. You Can See Everything won’t catch it at this pace, but $100 million is now well within reach.

UK audiences finally get to see it on Friday 20 November, when A24 releases it in UK and Irish cinemas.

9. Ghost Soldier (2026, Sony Pictures)

What makes it stand out: A Jim Caviezel action thriller that opened midweek finished sixth, just ahead of a $60 million Amazon MGM film.

Key data: About $5.2 million over the weekend from 2,558 cinemas and about $8.3 million across its first five days; directed by William Eubank and rated PG-13.

Why it matters: Caviezel’s films reach an audience that tracking tends to miss, and a Wednesday start gave this one a head start on the weekend.

Ghost Soldier opened on Wednesday 11 November, Veterans Day in the US, which made sense for a military thriller. It took $1.565 million on Friday, up 95% on Thursday, and built from there.

Caviezel has a history of surprising people. Sound of Freedom, which Angel Studios released in July 2023, made about $184 million domestically and became one of the most talked-about box office stories of that year. Ghost Soldier isn’t on that path, but it’s found a steady, specific audience, and five-day totals like this are respectable for a mid-budget action film.

Eubank previously directed Underwater with Kristen Stewart. A UK release date hasn’t been confirmed yet.

10. How to Rob a Bank (2026, Amazon MGM Studios)

What makes it stand out: David Leitch’s heist comedy is the weekend’s clear disappointment, opening in seventh with less than half its predicted total.

Key data: About $5.175 million from 2,810 cinemas, including $2.23 million on Friday, against a reported $60 million budget and tracking in the low teens.

Why it matters: Amazon MGM is trying to build a proper theatrical slate, and a $60 million original film opening this low is a setback for that plan.

On paper, this had a lot going for it. Leitch directed John Wick (uncredited, alongside Chad Stahelski), Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and The Fall Guy. Nicholas Hoult is one of the busiest actors working, and the cast also includes Pete Davidson and Anna Sawai. The trailers sold it as a loud, colourful caper.

None of it landed. TheWrap’s tracking pointed to a low-teens opening, already modest for a $60 million film, and it ended up at less than half of that. A 2.3 weekend multiple from its Friday number doesn’t suggest a word-of-mouth rescue either.

Part of the problem is space. Ebenezer took the older audience, Ghost Soldier took the action crowd, and Godzilla still had the premium screens. An original comedy with no franchise behind it needed clear air, and it didn’t get any.

For Amazon MGM, the next question is how quickly this reaches Prime Video. A UK cinema release date hasn’t been confirmed.

11. The Rest of the Top 10 and Below (2026, Various Studios)

What makes it stand out: Wild Horse Nine had the best hold in the top 10, Clayface keeps adding to its total, and Victorian Psycho barely registered.

Key data: Wild Horse Nine $4.6 million (down 22%, $13.3 million total), Wildwood $4.37 million ($48.3 million), Clayface $3.73 million ($63.6 million), Drummer Boy $3.51 million (down 63%, $16.2 million) and Victorian Psycho $1.08 million from 1,206 cinemas.

Why it matters: The lower half of the chart shows which films have legs heading into the holidays, and which don’t.

Wild Horse Nine fell just 22%, the smallest drop in the top 10, after a front-loaded first weekend. It also opened second in the UK a week ago with £1,477,229, so it has life on both sides of the Atlantic.

LAIKA’s Wildwood is closing on $50 million in North America, which is very strong for a stop-motion film released by Fathom. Clayface is now at $63.6 million domestically, comfortably past its reported $40 million to $44 million budget. We gave it 3/5 in our Clayface review.

Angel Studios’ Drummer Boy dropped 63%, a big fall after last weekend’s encouraging third-place start. Faith-based films often build on church group bookings in their first week and then slide.

Further down, Victorian Psycho opened with about $1.08 million from 1,206 cinemas, an average under $900 a cinema, and God With Us took $885,000 from 432. Two limited releases went the other way: Club Kid rose 87% to $756,060 in 27 cinemas and I Play Rocky climbed 49% to $503,818 in 29. Black Bear’s Wicker added $1.5 million for $23.3 million in total.

12. The Market and Next Weekend (2026, All Studios)

What makes it stand out: A batch of new releases wasn’t enough to stop the market falling by a quarter, which shows how much last weekend relied on Godzilla.

Key data: About $86 million across 39 reporting films, compared with the $114.9 million the top 20 took on 6 to 8 November; The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in the US and UK on 20 November 2026.

Why it matters: This is the quiet before the biggest stretch of the year, from Hunger Games through Thanksgiving to Christmas.

A 25% drop sounds bad, but there’s a simple reason. Last weekend had two strong openers at the top, and one of them was a record. This weekend’s No. 1 opened about $12 million lower, and the other new releases added only about $12 million between them.

Next weekend is a different story. Lionsgate’s Sunrise on the Reaping, with Joseph Zada as the young Haymitch Abernathy, arrives with strong early buzz. Our Sunrise on the Reaping first reactions piece rounded up critics calling it the best Hunger Games film yet. It’s widely expected to take Ebenezer’s No. 1 spot.

In the UK, the latest confirmed chart is 6 to 8 November, and it had Ramayana at No. 1, Wild Horse Nine second and Godzilla Minus Zero third. Ghosts: The Possession of Button House has reached £7,776,437, and it’s still comfortably ahead of Clayface’s £6,075,307 in their head-to-head from the same October weekend. Ebenezer’s first UK figures arrive on Tuesday, along with the chart for 13 to 15 November.

What This Weekend Tells Us

Johnny Depp can still open a film at No. 1, as long as it’s priced sensibly. Ebenezer’s $19 million came in a touch under forecasts, but it beat everything else on the chart by more than $7 million, and its $38 million budget gives Paramount room to profit if the Christmas run works. Godzilla Minus Zero’s 73% fall showed how much of its audience came on day one, The Cat in the Hat finally got the hold it needed, and How to Rob a Bank is the first real flop of the November season. Monday’s actuals will firm up the numbers, Tuesday’s Comscore chart will show how Ebenezer did in Britain, and on Friday Sunrise on the Reaping changes everything.

Sources: The Numbers (weekend chart, 13 to 15 November), The Numbers (daily chart, 13 November), TheWrap, SlashFilm, 25th Frame (Comscore UK data), Paramount Pictures (official Ebenezer trailer).

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