"It's good to be back," Johnny Depp says in the trailer for Ebenezer. He plays Charles Dickens's miserly Scrooge in the film. The Guardian reported that it is his first big Hollywood studio production in eight years. For years, legal battles with his former wife, Amber Heard, overshadowed his career.
Paramount is leaning on Depp's past. The trailer opens with nods to Captain Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands and the Mad Hatter. Then it declares: "The master of misfits returns." Depp, 63, has also fronted the marketing himself. He showed up as Scrooge at San Diego Comic-Con in July. This week he appeared in character in New York's Bryant Park. There he disrupted carol singers and knocked over a Christmas tree.
Early signs look good for the studio. An August report by the website Puck said a test screening in New Jersey scored the film 80 out of 100. The reported historical average is 72. Depp himself scored 86. Women over 35 were the most positive. Test scores, however, do not guarantee box office success.
Industry analysts see the film as a test. Robert Mitchell of Gower Street Analytics said Ebenezer would be a bellwether for Depp's bankability. He said Depp sells best in larger-than-life, almost grotesque roles like those he played for Tim Burton. David A Gross of the FranchiseRe newsletter said stars are worth little in the wrong role. He pointed to Tom Cruise's flop in Digger but called Scrooge a promising fit. Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak said reviews and marketing will matter more than how people feel about Depp personally. Director Ti West told Entertainment Weekly: "He's the movie, really."
Not everyone buys the comeback story. Tanya Horeck, a film professor at Anglia Ruskin University, noted that Depp never left public view. He remained the face of Dior's Sauvage fragrance. She said the trial largely elevated his star persona as a "misunderstood renegade". She added that his return shows how male stars accused of misconduct are being rehabilitated.
The legal fights shaped his recent career. In 2020 Depp lost a libel case against the Sun's publisher in the UK. A judge ruled that calling him a "wife beater" was substantially true. In a 2022 US defamation trial, a jury awarded Depp $10.35 million against Heard. It awarded her $2 million against one of his lawyers. The pair settled their appeals in 2022.
After the UK ruling, Depp was asked to leave the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and Mads Mikkelsen replaced him. His film Minamata made less than $1 million worldwide. Now Hollywood looks ready to work with him again. His next film, Day Drinker, is due in 2027. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer says he is in talks with Depp about a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film. Heard, meanwhile, has largely withdrawn from Hollywood.