Johnny Depp is back in a wide studio release for the first time since 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, according to Variety, and the question I keep seeing is not really about Scrooge. It is whether a good weekend for Paramount’s Ebenezer brings Captain Jack Sparrow closer to another voyage. Deadline reported an estimated $7.1 million for Friday, Nov. 13, previews included, which put the film on pace for a domestic opening of $20 million or more.
If you came here for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, here is the part that matters: nothing has been decided. Disney has announced no cast, no script and no release date. What has changed is Depp’s tone. In a recent Entertainment Tonight interview he stopped short of saying yes, but said his only interest would be to “send them off on a better note.” Below I separate the record from the rumor, walk through how we got here, do the weekend math and explain why I don’t think Ebenezer is the vote people are treating it as.
Friday in four numbers
These are the figures behind the headline. The first three come from Deadline and Variety. The fourth is a reported number, not a confirmed one.
On paper that is a workable bet: a mid-budget holiday movie, a director known for cheap horror and a star whose price dropped. Critics are split, with coverage this week putting Rotten Tomatoes at around 50%, so the audience has to do the heavy lifting.
Where Pirates 6 really stands
Almost everything public about the film traces back to Bruckheimer’s own comments or to reporting on them. I found no Disney announcement beyond that, so I’ve split what is on the record from what is blank.
- Talks with Depp. At D23 in August, Bruckheimer told Deadline the team is talking with Depp, working on a screenplay and hopes to get it done.
- Two scripts. Jeff Nathanson, who wrote Dead Men Tell No Tales, is writing one. Bruckheimer has said there is a second and that he didn’t know which would win out.
- A reboot. In 2024 he called the project a reboot, while saying he would want Depp in it.
- Margot Robbie. Deadline’s sources say the new film is built around a new lead played by Robbie. Disney hasn’t confirmed that. Bruckheimer told TheWrap in 2025 that she is still involved.
- The money behind it. The five films made about $4.5 billion worldwide, per The Numbers. Dead Men Tell No Tales, Depp’s last, made about $795 million of that.
- A title or a plot
- A cast, including whether Depp has signed
- A director, as far as I could find in coverage through Nov. 14
- A release window or shooting dates
- Whether Jack Sparrow would lead the film or play a smaller role in it
- A finished screenplay. In February, Bruckheimer said it was still being worked on.
How Depp and Pirates got here
The distance between “shelved” and “I’d go to work tomorrow” took nine years. Here are the dates that matter.
- May 26, 2017Dead Men Tell No Tales opens
It made about $795 million worldwide, per The Numbers. A hit, but less than the three films before it.
- Late 2018Disney is reported to be moving on
Reports said the studio was planning a reboot with new writers and without Depp.
- May 2022The trial testimony
At his libel trial, Depp’s agent testified that he was due $22.5 million for a sixth film before Disney went in “a different direction,” per Variety.
- 2024“A reboot”
Bruckheimer described the project that way, with Nathanson attached, and said he would want Depp in it.
- February 2026Still writing
Bruckheimer told Deadline the screenplay was unfinished and described Pirates and Top Gun 3 as a horse race, with Top Gun 3 slightly ahead, per Backstage.
- August 2026D23
He said the team was talking with Depp and hoped to get it done.
- Nov. 2, 2026Depp answers
On Entertainment Tonight he didn’t confirm a return, but said he would work with Bruckheimer on nearly anything and wants only to give the franchise a better ending.
- Nov. 12–13, 2026Ebenezer opens
$1.5 million in previews, then an estimated $7.1 million on Friday.
Is Ebenezer a vote on Jack Sparrow?
Much of the coverage treats this weekend as a referendum. I understand why. It is the first real test of whether audiences will pay for Depp in a studio movie, and Disney is, presumably, watching. But I think the test is blurrier than it looks.
Start with who buys the ticket. Ebenezer sells a Dickens story, a horror director, a Christmas date and a star. A Pirates movie sells a ship, a ride and a hat. If Ebenezer opens to $20 million, I can’t tell you how much of that is Depp and how much is Christmas, and I doubt Disney can either.
Then there is the question Disney is actually answering. Bruckheimer has said it comes down to what is on the page. A star saying yes does not fix an unfinished script, and per Deadline’s sources the new film may be built around a different lead.
My take: I think a strong opening helps Depp’s story and does very little for the Pirates script. A weak one gives Disney a convenient reason to keep its distance. Either way, the people with the power to say yes are reading pages, not Sunday estimates.
The skeptical case deserves its space. The A.V. Club argues the comeback assumes audiences missed Depp in the first place, and the record gives it something to work with: Mortdecai grossed $47.3 million worldwide on a $60 million budget, per Wikipedia, and even Dead Men Tell No Tales earned less than the films before it. If Ebenezer stumbles, that is the story people will tell.
The weekend math, done on a napkin
Friday’s $7.1 million includes $1.5 million of previews, so a normal Friday ran closer to $5.6 million. That is the better yardstick for Saturday and Sunday. Here is what each possible weekend total would require. This is arithmetic, not a forecast.
My read: a holiday family film usually gains on Saturday, so the low case would surprise me. But the real answer arrives with Sunday’s studio estimates, and a single weekend says little about the weeks that follow, when Ebenezer will face The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on Nov. 20.
Three signals I would treat as real news
These are my own yardsticks, not anything Disney or Bruckheimer has said.
- Strong signalA named writer, director or release window
Until Disney attaches one of these, everything else is conversation. A named creative team would be the first sign the film is moving from talk to a plan.
- Mixed signalA strong second weekend for Ebenezer
Legs through Thanksgiving would support the story that Depp can still carry a movie. It would not, by itself, touch the script problem.
- Weak signalAnother “we’re talking” from the producer
Bruckheimer has said versions of it for years. It is encouraging, but it’s not new information.
Questions people are searching for
Is Johnny Depp coming back as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6?
Not confirmed. Depp has said he is open to it for the right reason, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said the team is talking with him. Disney has not announced a cast, so there is no official yes.
Is Pirates of the Caribbean 6 actually happening?
It is in development, per Bruckheimer, but it has no announced release date, cast or finished script. In February he said the screenplay was still being worked on.
When is the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 release date?
There isn’t one. Disney has not announced a date, a title or a plot.
Who is writing Pirates of the Caribbean 6?
Jeff Nathanson, who wrote Dead Men Tell No Tales, is working on a script, per Bruckheimer. He has also said there is a second script and that he didn’t know which would win out.
Is Margot Robbie in Pirates of the Caribbean 6?
Deadline’s sources have said the new film is built around a new lead played by Robbie. Disney has not confirmed that. Bruckheimer told TheWrap in 2025 that she is still involved.
How much did Ebenezer make on Friday?
An estimated $7.1 million on Friday, Nov. 13, including $1.5 million from Thursday previews, according to Deadline. That put it on pace for a domestic opening of $20 million or more.
How much did Ebenezer cost?
Variety reports Paramount spent $38 million to make it and about $50 million more to market it.
Why did Disney move on from Depp in the first place?
Reports in late 2018 said Disney was planning a reboot with new writers. At his 2022 libel trial, Depp’s agent testified that Disney went in a different direction on a sixth film he was due to star in.
Depp’s comments are the most encouraging thing anyone has said about Pirates 6 in years, and they change very little. A star saying yes is not a script, a director or a date. Ebenezer can help the story, but it can’t write the movie. If Disney wants Jack Sparrow back, it will be because the page is good, not because of one weekend in November. For now my answer to “Will Depp return?” is possibly, and nobody with the power to decide has said so.
