Entertainment
Ryan Gosling’s Colossal 2026 Sci-Fi Hit Is Officially Rivaling ‘Oppenheimer’s Massive Box Office Opening
Project Hail Mary is finally in theaters, and it’s already pulling out incredible box office numbers. Based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, Ryan Gosling stars in the feature, playing the lead role of Dr. Ryland Grace, who’s sent into deep space to find a way to save the Earth as the sun is dimming, and along the way, he meets Rocky (James Ortiz), a rock-shaped alien whose home planet also faces a similar issue. After earning high praise from fans and critics alike, it’s no surprise that its box office performance would follow suit.
Project Hail Mary entered theaters last week, and not only has it generated a high Certified Fresh critics score of 95% and a Verified Hot Audience score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it has also earned a CinemaScore of “A” and a 4.4 rating on Letterboxd. Additionally, Project Hail Mary surpassed Weir’s previous film adaptation: in 2015, The Martian opened with $54 million. Project Hail Mary proved it could pull audiences into theaters, breaking records for those involved in the film.
Per a recent report, Project Hail Mary generated over $80 million at the box office during its opening weekend, with $33.1 million from Friday’s opening day and $27.1 million from Saturday’s screenings. This latest performance broke many box-office records, making it “the best domestic opening ever” for an Amazon MGM Studio movie and the best opening for the film’s directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. However, Project Hail Mary’s opening performance failed to surpass Gosling’s $1 billion blockbuster hit, Barbie, which grossed over $162 million during its opening, but it came within touching distance of Oppenheimer‘s $82 million opening from the same weekend in 2023.
Clooney or Gosling? — The Collider Movie Quiz!
It’s been over a week since the Ides of March (3/15). Today we’re pitting the stars of that film (George Clooney and Ryan Gosling) against each other.
What To Watch If You Like ‘Project Hail Mary’
At the moment, Project Hail Mary has not announced its streaming release date. If you have watched the feature and want to watch something similar, there are plenty of thrilling sci-fi films to choose from. The first is The Martian, which stars Matt Damon as Dr. Mark Watney, an astronaut who must survive on Mars after his team left him behind. It’s also based on Weir’s novels, so now is a good time to revisit his previous work.
Another movie worth watching if you like Project Hail Mary is Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain. Much like Project Hail Mary, Interstellar centers around an astronaut (McConaughey) whose mission is to find a habitable planet to save humanity as they face extinction on Earth. Additionally, since the release of Project Hail Mary, moviegoers have compared Nolan’s film to the 2026 blockbuster.
Lastly, if you want to watch another film where Gosling plays an astronaut, then First Man is an excellent option. Released in 2018, Gosling plays famous astronaut Neil Armstrong as NASA prepares its mission to land on the moon. First Man, based on the 2005 book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, made $105 million worldwide and the film earned a certified fresh critics score of 87%.
Project Hail Mary is now showing in theaters. Follow Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
-
March 20, 2026
- Runtime
-
156 Minutes
- Director
-
Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
- Writers
-
Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
- Producers
-
Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Aditya Sood, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor
You must be logged in to post a comment Login