Director Ti West (X, Pearl, MaXXXine) had recently stated that he aimed to make his upcoming movie Ebenezer a “spookier version” of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol “than ever before,” but just how far does West push the horror in the Johnny Depp-starring ghost story? Well, as you might expect, not quite as far as he pushes the horror in most of his movies.
Paramount’s Ebenezer has received a PG-13 rating this week for “Frightening material.”
Johnny Depp makes his return to the big screen as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s Ebenezer, which is of course a new take on the classic tale of A Christmas Carol from Charles Dickens.
Paramount brings Ebenezer to theaters on November 13, 2026.
The cast also includes Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, alongside Andrea Riseborough (Possessor), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars franchise), Sam Claflin (Hunger Games), Charlie Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”), Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), and Ellie Bamber (“Willow”)
Nathaniel Halpern wrote the adaptation for Ti West to direct.
Written by Charles Dickens, the classic tale of A Christmas Carol has been adapted for the screen countless times over the years, with notable film adaptations including Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, Scrooge (1970) starring Albert Finney, A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott, Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) starring Michael Caine, and A Christmas Carol (2009) starring Jim Carrey.
A Christmas Carol is classically a period piece ghost story. As Luiz H.C. wrote here on Bloody Disgusting, “Isn’t it weird how the single most influential piece of Christmas-related media is technically a horror story? One can even make the argument that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol paved the way for the rise of Victorian Spiritualism during the following decade.”
