'Ebenezer', starring Johnny Depp, took in US$19 million in its debut weekend to top the North American box office. (Paramount pic)WASHINGTON: "Ebenezer" starring Johnny Depp in the latest iteration of "A Christmas Carol" scrounged its way to the top of North American box offices, taking in US$19 million in sales in its debut weekend, an industry monitor said.
Depp, of course, plays Ebenezer Scrooge - a miserly old man who is visited by ghosts and discovers the true meaning of Christmas - in the latest of dozens of live-action and animated adaptations of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 novella. This one comes from Paramount.
"This is a solid opening for a Christmas-themed movie. These are big pictures and the weekend figure is roughly average for the type," veteran industry analyst David A. Gross wrote.
