Ryan Gosling just saved the world, and the box office. Project Hail Mary, the sci-fi epic based on Andy Weir’s bestselling novel, launched with a staggering $80.5 million in North American ticket sales over its opening weekend, shattering expectations and setting a new record for Amazon MGM Studios.
The film, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, added $60.4 million from 82 international markets for a global debut of $140.9 million, making it the biggest worldwide opening of 2026 for an MPA title. The numbers are even more impressive given that Project Hail Mary is a standalone original story, not a sequel or franchise installment. It now ranks as the second non-franchise film of the past decade to open above $80 million domestically, after Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ($82.4 million).
The $108 million production marks a turning point for Amazon’s theatrical ambitions. Since acquiring MGM for $8.5 billion in 2021, the studio had struggled to land a genuine box office hit. Project Hail Mary more than doubled the studio’s previous record-holder, Creed III, which opened to $58 million in 2023.
“We believe deeply in the Hail Mary, and it’s clear audiences do as well,” said Kevin Wilson, head of theatrical distribution at Amazon MGM Studios. “What we’re seeing in theaters, the energy, the exit scores, the word of mouth, is everything we believed this film would deliver”.
The film’s success arrives after a string of underperformers for the studio. Crime 101 grossed just $65 million against a $90 million budget earlier this year, while documentary Melania earned only $16 million on a $40 million budget . Industry analyst David A. Gross called Project Hail Mary Amazon MGM’s first “genuine box office hit”.
The film’s performance was propelled by exceptional reviews. Project Hail Mary holds a 95 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on nearly 300 reviews . Audiences were equally enthusiastic, awarding the film an “A” CinemaScore and giving it five out of five stars in PostTrak exit polls, with 83 percent saying they would “definitely recommend” it to friends.
The movie follows Gosling as Ryland Grace, a science teacher-turned-astronaut who wakes up aboard a spaceship with no memory of his mission. As his memory returns, he discovers he’s humanity’s last hope to stop a mysterious substance from causing the sun to die out. German actress Sandra Hüller co-stars alongside Gosling in the adaptation of Weir’s 2021 novel, the same author behind The Martian, which opened to $54.3 million in 2015.
Premium large format screens played a crucial role in the launch. IMAX alone delivered $30.3 million worldwide, marking the biggest non-franchise opening weekend in IMAX history . In North America, IMAX screens accounted for $16.4 million, making Project Hail Mary only the third film in the exhibitor’s history to index over 20 percent with an opening above $80 million .
Fifteen locations in the U.S. and London’s BFI screened the film in IMAX 70mm, generating $2 million for a staggering $122,000 per-screen average .
The film opened at No. 1 in more than 60 markets, including the United Kingdom ($10.2 million), Australia ($5 million), Germany ($4.1 million), Mexico ($3 million), and France ($2.6 million). Even in China, where it opened at No. 2, the film pulled in $7.1 million, with IMAX screens accounting for 34 percent of that total, a record for an original sci-fi title in the large format.
The opening weekend serves as a powerful reminder of Gosling’s box office draw. After the modest performance of 2024’s The Fall Guy, which grossed $181 million globally against a production budget in the same range, Project Hail Mary puts the actor back atop the industry.
“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,” Wilson told the Associated Press.
The film is expected to have strong legs in the coming weeks, with minimal competition until The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens on April 1. Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian noted that Project Hail Mary is “a momentum builder like no other” that is “reinvigorating the movie marketplace”. For Amazon MGM, the mission has been accomplished, and audiences are along for the ride.
