PROJECT HAIL MARY Blasts Off With $80.5M Domestic Debut, Setting Amazon MGM Record

Amazon MGM finally has the kind of theatrical win it’s been chasing, and it came in a big way. Project Hail Mary didn’t just open strong, it launched straight to the top with an impressive $80.5 million domestic debut, instantly becoming the studio’s biggest opening ever and the largest of the year so far.

That number blows past the previous Amazon MGM record held by Creed III at $58 million and overtakes Scream 7, which had been leading 2026 with a $63 million debut.

The film was already tracking for around $65 million heading into the weekend, but strong reviews and audience enthusiasm pushed it well beyond expectations.

Internationally, the film added another $60.4 million across 82 markets, bringing its global opening to a massive $140.9 million.

“We believe deeply in the Hail Mary, and it’s clear audiences do as well,” says Amazon MGM’s distribution chief Kevin Wilson. “What we’re seeing in theaters — the energy, the exit scores, the word of mouth — is everything we believed this film would deliver.”

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the sci-fi adventure adapts Andy Weir’s bestselling novel and follows a scientist on a desperate interstellar mission to save humanity from extinction. The movie carries a hefty $200 million production cost, plus a significant marketing spend, so this kind of start isn’t just nice, it’s necessary.

Critics and audiences are all clearly on board. The film holds a strong 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned an “A” CinemaScore, which usually signals strong legs in the weeks ahead.

“This is Amazon MGM’s first big hit,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “What makes the story work is the balance of science fiction and humanity. ‘The Martian’ had similar heart, and it’s working again.”

That balance seems to be a major factor in pulling audiences into theaters, especially at a time when Amazon is still trying to prove itself as a serious theatrical player.

Since acquiring MGM for $8 billion in 2022, the company’s big-screen efforts have been inconsistent. Early 2026 releases like Melania and Crime 101 didn’t exactly light up the box office, which put extra pressure on Project Hail Mary to deliver.

So far, mission accomplished.

The film also benefited from premium large format screens, with IMAX, Dolby, and similar formats making up about 55% of ticket sales. That kind of turnout highlights how much audiences are still willing to show up for large-scale cinematic experiences.

“This film is tailor-made for the [PLF] experience,” says Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. “The results again underscore how important it is for exhibition and studios to continue prioritizing expansion efforts for those auditoriums.

“When an event-level film such as this captures cultural attention, it’s a perfect recipe for reminding people what truly separates the best theatrical experiences from anything else available to them.”

Elsewhere at the box office, Disney and Searchlight’s horror sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come opened in fourth place with $9 million domestically and $11.9 million globally. Pixar’s Hoppers dropped to second place with $18 million, pushing its worldwide total to $242 million after three weekends.

The Indian action sequel Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge made a strong impression in third place with $9.5 million from just 987 locations, setting a new benchmark for Bollywood openings in North America.

“This is an incredible opening, especially for a four-hour movie,” the distributor wrote in a note to press.

Rounding out the top five, Reminders of Him added $8 million in its second weekend, while Warner Bros.’ The Bride! continues to collapse, falling to No. 15 with just $275,000 and cementing its status as a major financial misfire.

Overall, the box office is trending upward, sitting 21% ahead of this point last year, though it’s still trailing pre-pandemic levels by about 20%. With little direct competition in the immediate future, Project Hail Mary is in a great position to hold strong until the next big event film arrives, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on April 1.

For now, Ryan Gosling’s interstellar gamble is paying off in a big way, and it might just be the movie Amazon MGM needed to prove it can compete on the biggest stage.

Via: Variety