LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Paramount's fantasy comedy-horror film "Ebenezer" led ticket sales at the North American box office with an estimated 19 million U.S. dollars in its opening weekend, according to data by measurement firm Rentrak on Sunday.
Internationally, the film took in 23 million dollars across 63 markets, bringing its global haul to 42 million dollars.
Directed by Ti West, the film stars Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy businessman and Christmas curmudgeon, in a reimagining of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 holiday tale, "A Christmas Carol."
The film has received an approval rating of 54 percent based on 123 reviews to date on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences surveyed by market research firm CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "A-" on a scale ranging from A+ to F.
Warner Bros.' animated fantasy film "The Cat in the Hat" remained in second place with 11.4 million dollars in its second weekend. Based on the 1957 children's book of the same name, the film has grossed 38.2 million dollars in North America for a worldwide total of 55.8 million dollars through Sunday.
Japanese sci-fi film "Godzilla Minus Zero" landed in third place, earning 8.3 million dollars in its second weekend and bringing its North American cume to 48.9 million dollars.
