Having completed nearly a month in theaters worldwide, Project Hail Maryrecently passed the coveted $500 million milestone at the global box office. The movie is on track to overtake its spiritual precursor, The Martian, in the coming days after having already surpassed the title domestically. Both sci-fi epics were based on bestselling novels by Andy Weir and scripted by Drew Goddard. The Martian received a Best Picture nod at the Oscars a decade ago, after grossing $630 million worldwide. Project Hail Mary has maintained an even higher Rotten Tomatoes score than that film, and is poised for awards season success as well. It’s now sitting at a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the 91% of The Martian. Over the course of its run, Project Hail Mary has overtaken several past sci-fi epics, many of which were equally well-received.
For instance, this past weekend, it overtook the lifetime worldwide box-office haul of War for the Planet of the Apes, directed by Matt Reeves. It had previously passed Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar and the Will Smith-led dystopian epic I Am Legend. In its fourth week of release, Project Hail Mary overtook one of the best-reviewed sci-fi franchise-starters of the last two decades. The movie in question was released in 2009, but we aren’t talking about James Cameron‘s Avatar. That year saw the release of another sci-fi hit that coincidentally featured Zoe Saldaña in the cast.
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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
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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
🏜️Dune
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🚀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.
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.
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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.
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.
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Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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.
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Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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.
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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.
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 Domestic Box Office
We’re talking, of course, about J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek. The film grossed $257 million at the domestic box office, but it underperformed overseas for a worldwide haul of approximately $390 million. Project Hail Mary‘s domestic haul currently stands at $258 million. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the movie stars Ryan Gosling as the lead. Star Trek, on the other hand, starred Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and the late Anton Yelchin alongside Saldaña. The movie was followed by two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness, also directed by Abrams, and Star Trek Beyond, directed by Justin Lin. The movies were simply not successful enough in international markets to justify the long-rumored fourth installment. However, a sprawling new television universe overseen by Alex Kurtzman is thriving on Paramount+.
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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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