Paramount Pictures has discovered a highly efficient new digital revenue model for Ti West's upcoming Johnny Depp vehicle 'Ebenezer': letting the film's promotional Venmo account quietly pocket the real cash sent by fans.
The studio originally launched the verified peer-to-peer payment profile to build buzz for the holiday release, intending to drop random $5 micro-payments to users who interacted with the Victorian miser. But after audiences began inexplicably transferring their own money to the fictional sociopath—often attaching notes begging the character to reconsider his stance on the poor—Paramount executives quietly halted the outbound transfers and simply let the incoming deposits accrue.
Tracking data reveals the @RealEbenezer1843 account has already raked in an estimated $14 million in unprompted fan transfers, netting a higher daily yield than the studio’s entire fall theatrical slate. Without the burden of exhibitor splits, international distribution fees, or the logistics of a global press tour, the direct-deposit strategy represents a staggering 100% profit margin, prompting a massive pivot in the project's overall rollout.
Industry insiders note that Depp’s reps at CAA have already renegotiated the actor’s backend deal to include a 15% cut of all incoming app transfers, along with exclusive rights to any unsolicited utility payments sent to the profile by confused elderly users. Rival studios are reportedly scrambling to replicate the peer-to-peer windfall, with A24 quietly testing a GoFundMe for a depressed, heavily indebted lighthouse keeper.
Why risk a $150 million global marketing spend trying to lure audiences into a multiplex when we can just have a publicist aggressively request $22 for 'coal' directly on their phones?
Sources close to the production confirm the studio has already greenlit a sequel strategy, actively setting up a promotional Zelle account where the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come will issue vague, unprompted demands for $500 accompanied only by a skull emoji.