A miser counts his coins in a cold counting house. On Christmas Eve, the ghost of his old partner rattles his chains and promises three more visitors before dawn. You know how the story goes. Ti West, the director of X, Pearl and MaXXXINE, wants you to feel it again as if for the first time, and to be a little frightened along the way.
Ebenezer stars Johnny Depp as Scrooge, in his first major Hollywood studio film for several years, and opens in more than 500 UK cinemas this Friday through Paramount.
Depp’s Scrooge is a wicked delight; the film around him is gorgeous, faithful and a little too familiar.
Movie at a Glance
- UK release: In cinemas from Friday 13 November 2026 (Paramount Pictures)
- US release: In cinemas from Friday 13 November 2026 (Paramount Pictures)
- Director: Ti West
- Writer: Nathaniel Halpern, from the novel by Charles Dickens
- Starring: Johnny Depp, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley and Ian McKellen
- Certificate: 12A (UK)
- Runtime: Just under two hours
- Genre: Gothic fantasy, Christmas drama
Viewer Match
- Best for: Anyone who loves A Christmas Carol and fancies a darker, spookier version of it.
- Maybe skip if: You have seen the story so many times that you need a genuinely new angle.
- Mood and pace: Gloomy and gothic, with flashes of mischief and a warm finish.
- Cinema or streaming? Cinema. The production design and sound are built for a big, dark room.
- Spoiler level: Spoiler-free, although Dickens gave the ending away in 1843.
The Name You Know
Nathaniel Halpern’s script sticks closely to Dickens. Scrooge is visited by Ian McKellen’s Jacob Marley and then by the three spirits: Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Robert Strange as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Rupert Grint is Bob Cratchit, and Sam Claflin and Daisy Ridley play Scrooge’s nephew Fred and his wife Clara.
The film opened with a red-carpet premiere in Leicester Square, which we covered in our Morning News report from the Ebenezer premiere.
Depp’s Scrooge
Depp is the main attraction, and he is good value. His Scrooge is cartoonish at times, all crooked posture and sour relish, but the performance has more layers than the trailers suggest, and the change in him with each visitor is clearly tracked. When the film reaches for the tears at the end, he earns them.
Not everyone will be won over. There are moments when it feels like Depp playing a familiar Depp eccentric in a top hat, and how much you enjoy him will depend on how much you have missed that.
A Gothic Ghost Story
West’s horror background pays off. He gives the film a thick, haunted gothic atmosphere, and the spirits are unsettling rather than cosy. The production design, sound and score are excellent, and the film looks expensive in the best way.
The trouble is that faithfulness cuts both ways. Once the novelty of the darker tone wears off, this is the story beat for beat, and it never quite finds the fresh angle its marketing promises. The supporting cast, Grint and Claflin especially, have little to do beyond being decent.
One for the Season
It makes a handsome, slightly spooky start to the festive season. For more Christmas viewing, see our Christmas TV 2026 guide. Everything else opening this week is in this week’s Weekly Cinema Pack, and if you are staying in tonight, try What to Watch Tonight.
Spoiler-Free Verdict
Ebenezer is a beautifully made, properly gothic A Christmas Carol, with a lively, layered Johnny Depp at its heart. It is also very faithful and rather familiar, and it never quite justifies yet another trip to Victorian London.
- Performances: 7.5/10
- Direction: 7/10
- Screenplay: 5.5/10
- Score: 7.5/10
- Cinematography: 8/10
- Entertainment Value: 6.5/10
- Overall score: 6.5/10
Star rating: 3/5
Verdict badge: Best watched in the Cinema
One-line verdict: A gorgeous, spooky Christmas Carol that sticks too closely to the script.
Watch the Official Trailer
Meet Johnny Depp’s Scrooge and his ghostly visitors in the official UK trailer from Paramount Pictures UK.
Who is your favourite screen Scrooge, and does Johnny Depp join the list?