Johnny Depp's 'Ebenezer' leads the box office on opening day with $6.7 million

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 14) — "Ebenezer," director Ti West's adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" with Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge, led the North American box office on Friday with $6.7 million from 3,535 theaters, including $1.5 million from Thursday previews, Variety reported.

Variety projected an opening weekend of $18 million to $20 million, with about another $20 million expected overseas. Paramount is still looking at a $20 million start, though rival studios see it coming in lower, Deadline reported Saturday morning. A $20 million debut would put the film near Depp's non-franchise openings for "Black Mass" ($22.6 million in 2015) and "Public Enemies" ($25.2 million in 2009), according to Deadline.

The PG-13 film cost Paramount about $38 million to make, Variety reported, and audiences gave it an A-minus CinemaScore. Deadline said premium large-format screens accounted for 36% of the gross and that the film was playing evenly across the country, with families a key hope for Saturday.

Amazon MGM's heist comedy "How to Rob a Bank," starring Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz and Pete Davidson, took in $2.2 million on Friday and is pacing toward about $4.75 million for the weekend against a budget of more than $40 million, Variety reported. Sony's action thriller "Ghost Soldier," starring Jim Caviezel, opened with $1.5 million on Friday.

Among holdovers, Warner Bros.' animated "The Cat in the Hat" made $2.2 million on Friday and is headed for about $10 million in its second weekend, while "Godzilla Minus Zero," last weekend's record-setting No. 1, is expected to add about $7.5 million, bringing its domestic total to about $48.1 million, according to Variety.