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2026’s Biggest Original Sci-Fi Movie Just Passed One of the Best Alien Invasion Sequels Ever

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Nearly two months into its theatrical run, Project Hail Mary is finally facing intense competition. Two weeks ago, it was unseated as the reigning champion of the domestic box office by the Michael Jackson biopic. Last week, it was pushed further down the leaderboard by The Devil Wears Prada 2. And this weekend, Mortal Kombat II claimed another chunk of its target audience. That said, Project Hail Mary remains the second-highest-grossing American film of the year both domestically and worldwide, behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. In its eighth weekend of release, the sci-fi epic slipped out of the top five and passed what may be its final global box office milestone.

Produced on a reported budget of more than $200 million, Project Hail Mary marks the directorial comeback of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who hadn’t made a movie in more than a decade. It stars Ryan Gosling in the lead role of a scientist who’s sent on an intergalactic mission to save the world. Project Hail Mary is based on a bestseller by Andy Weir, whose previous novel served as the source for The Martian — the acclaimed blockbuster directed by Ridley Scott and headlined by Matt Damon. Remarkably, Project Hail Mary has surpassed The Martian both critically and commercially. It now holds a “Certified Fresh” 94% critics’ score and a “Verified Hot” 95% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

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🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

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01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





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02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





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03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





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04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





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05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





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06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





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07

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





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08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





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Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

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The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

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  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
  • You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
  • You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
  • The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.


The Wasteland

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

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  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
  • You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
  • You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
  • In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.


Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

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  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
  • In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
  • You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
  • In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.


Arrakis

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

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  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.


A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

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  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
  • You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

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Here’s How Much ‘Project Hail Mary’ Has Grossed at the Box Office

With more than $660 million at the worldwide box office, Project Hail Mary has now surpassed the $655 million lifetime global haul of Men in Black 3. Released in 2012, the threequel outgrossed its two predecessors by a large margin, and took the franchise’s collective global haul past the $1.5 billion mark worldwide. Directed by the returning Barry Sonnenfeld, Men in Black 3 was produced on a franchise-record budget of $250 million. Alongside Will Smith, the film featured franchise mainstay Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, who played versions of the same character wrapped up in a time-travel plot. Men in Black 3 holds a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “It isn’t exactly a persuasive argument for the continuation of the franchise, but Men in Black 3 is better than its predecessor and manages to exceed expectations.” Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.


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Release Date
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March 15, 2026

Runtime

157 minutes

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Director

Christopher Miller, Phil Lord

Writers
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Drew Goddard, Andy Weir

Producers

Aditya Sood, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor, Ryan Gosling

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