It’s been a while since a major sci-fi movie not connected to an existing franchise dominated the box office, but it happened for the weekend of March 21-23 as Project Hail Mary cruised to a global box office take of $140.9 million, securing the highest-grossing opening weekend for any movie so far in 2026.
Per Variety, the Ryan Gosling-starring sci-fi movie took in $80.5 million in North America alone, far ahead of the previous top debut of 2026, Scream 7, which had $33.1 million. It’s also the biggest start ever for a film produced by Amazon MGM.
Based on the novel by Andy Weir and written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary stars Gosling as a scientist recruited into a mission to find a way to save Earth’s sun from cooling, which would create a new ice age. Along the way, he meets and befriends an alien. In a statement to Variety, Amazon’s distribution chief Kevin Wilson praised the film’s success.
“Andy Weir’s beloved novel gave us a powerful foundation, and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have created a visually stunning, heart-gripping film led by the brilliant Ryan Gosling that demands to be experienced on the biggest screen possible–together, with a crowd," he said. "When you combine that with the exceptional critical response and strong audience reactions, you tend to find yourself in rarefied air. And it leaves no doubt that Ryan Gosling is a singular star that has the massive global appeal and charisma to anchor a story like this.”
This is great news for Amazon MGM, after the underperformance of the Melania documentary and crime caper Crime 101. They have another big swing planned for the summer with the live-action Masters of the Universe film.
It’s a great start, and begs the question of how far Project Hail Mary can rise at the box office.
Can Project Hail Mary make its money back?
While the movie’s debut is terrific, it's worth noting that the reported budget was $200 million. That means it would likely have to crack the half-billion-dollar mark to really turn a profit.
The movie benefited from a good release date in late March as well as excellent reviews (it has a 95% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes). Variety quoted box office analyst Shawn Robbins, who credited both Lord and Miller as well as the release timing for the movie’s success.
“The debut of ‘Project Hail Mary’ is a testament to the power of Andy Weir’s original novel and the efforts Lord and Miller made in being faithful with the adaptation. [It’s] arriving at a time when people are looking for escapism from the real world’s dire headlines. This is the kind of rare breed movie that will continue drawing audiences in cinemas for weeks to come," Robbins said.
The movie’s high box office is also due to its marketing as an IMAX-only experience, which boosts ticket sales. Right now, the film looks set to remain number one at the box office for at least one more week. That may end when The Super Mario Bros Galaxy Movie opens on April 1.
For now, the success of Project Hail Mary is much-needed good news for Hollywood and for sci-fi lovers as well. It proves that audiences will turn out for a major epic sci-fi film and, hopefully, get more projects in the genre greenlit. Like its title, the movie was a Hail Mary for Amazon that’s paid off and seems set to continue its successful run.
Project Hail Mary is out now in theaters. Check out our review of the film here.