Johnny Depp's Ebenezer is handing out pennies on Venmo

Ti West's Christmas movie for Paramount Pictures humbugs into theaters November 13.

By Jarrod Jones  |  October 23, 2026 | 10:40am
Screenshot: Paramount Pictures/Venmo
Film News Ebenezer
Johnny Depp's Ebenezer is handing out pennies on Venmo

In the latest example of phone-brained movie marketing, Paramount Pictures announced on Friday that Johnny Depp’s Ebenezer Scrooge has opened a Venmo account to promote Ti West’s upcoming Christmas movie, Ebenezer. “Ebenezer Scrooge is now on @venmo,” a post from the official Ebenezer X account read. “Think he’s feeling generous? 💰 Send a request.”

Now, should you feel compelled to request money from Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge (or a bot assigned to the Ebenezer Venmo account programmed to behave like Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge), you should know going in that any hope of extracting more than one red cent from the infamous miser of fiction is folly. Have you not read A Christmas Carol? If Bob Cratchit’s sob stories couldn’t secure a loan from Scrooge, what hope do you have of convincing the owners of a Venmo account created solely to promote a Scrooge movie to pay off your gas bill or whatever? 

Indeed, should you head to the official Ebenezer Venmo account and request some quick cash, your account will soon be richer by a single penny, a sum so worthless that it was discontinued by the U.S. Treasury at Christmastime last year. Despite this paltry sum, folks are lining up to engage with fake-Scrooge in droves (per Variety), with requests for Scrooge cents causing a temporary jam in Venmo traffic Friday evening, though that appears to have been fixed. In a sick and perhaps sadly predictable twist to this story, people are also allowed to send money to the Ebenezer account in whatever amount they deem funny, with one account posting, “For cheers and joy! (And maybe a little luck please).” Variety notes that “it is unclear” where this cash will end up. What’s that old saying? “A fool and his money are soon parted?” Maybe Paramount can print holiday greeting cards with that on them to promote Ebenezer next.

 
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