Project Hail Mary continues its out-of-this-world performance after rocketing past the $300 million mark at the global box office to rank as the top Hollywood title of 2026 to date, a feat it accomplished in only its second weekend.
In North America, the Ryan Gosling-led movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi pic fell a scant 32 percent to $54.5 million to boast the best hold in recent memory for movies opening in the same range, including Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in 2023 and 2024’s Dune: Part 2. Nolan’s pic dropped 54 percent to $46.2 in its sophomore outing, while Dune dipped 44 percent to $46.7 million.
Related Stories
That puts Project Hail Mary‘s 10-day domestic cume at an astonishing $164.3 million. Overseas, its total gross rose to $136.2 million for a worldwide total of $300.8 million in a huge win for Amazon MGM Studios. The movie has become the highest-grossing pic since the e-commerce giant took over the once-storied studio after passing up Creed III‘s lifetime run of $156.2 million domestically and north of $276 million globally.
Opening well ahead of expectations last weekend, the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-directed Project Hail Mary blasted off with a domestic launch of $80.6 million, the best showing of the year to date and the second-best in a decade for a non-sequel or franchise title behind Oppenheimer ($52.5 million). Gosling’s top-grossing film of all time, of course, is Barbie, but Project Hail Mary is his biggest domestic opening featuring the actor in a leading role, not adjusted for inflation. It is also a domestic best for Lord and Miller.
Hail Mary is also performing ahead of expectations overseas, where sci-fi is a notoriously tough genre to sell in certain European countries, as well as key regions in Latin America and Asia. The film launched to $60.4 million from 80 markets at the foreign box office for a global launch of roughly $141 million, also the best start of 2026 so far for a Hollywood title.
And just as in the U.S., Project Hail Mary‘s wit and heartwarming undercurrents are leading to the sort of unanticipated, collective word-of-mouth that comes along once in a blue moon for theater owners and studios. On Friday, for example, the film grossed $11.7 million overseas, up four percent from the previous Friday despite adding more territories, for an international tally of $98.7 million in 86 markets.
The sci-fi epic stars Gosling as an ostracized biologist now teaching high school who is tapped by the head of an international consortium (Sandra Hüller) to help stop the sun from dimming and usher in another ice age. Gosling’s character doesn’t remember any of this upon awaking to find himself alone on a ship hurtling through space. The rest of the crew has died, but he proceeds and discovers an alien life form that is trying to solve the same problem. The craggy-looking alien, who is given the nickname “Rocky,” learns how to use English as their means of communication and the two, working step by step, use their growing bond to solve the problem (the merchandising possibilities are tantalizing, to say the least, should Hail Mary transform into a franchise).
Multiple sources say a franchise is a possibility. Weir has said he has ideas for a sequel to his best-selling novel, but to date, there are no official conversations between the author— who is in the driver’s seat in terms of all things related to Hail Mary — but insiders say a sequel is far from out of the question.
The movie arrives at a defining moment for Amazon MGM, which is on the verge of becoming a major Hollywood studio, just as David Ellison‘s Skydance, which became the new owner of Paramount in August 2025, prepares to add Warner Bros. Discovery to the portfolio. While he says he will keep the two studios separate, no one is sure how that will work. By all accounts, a vertical merger of this size would be heavily scrutinized by Washington regulators, but President Donald Trump is a close ally with Oracle founder and mega-billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father. Trump has also praised the younger Ellison and supported the Paramount-Skydance marriage after sweeping changes were made at CBS News. Trump is widely expected to exact changes at CNN as well if Ellison succeeds in buying WBD, the owner of the cable channel.
Hail Mary wasn’t the only winning pass driving up year-over-year revenue. In its fourth weekend, Pixar and Disney’s Hoppers became the second-biggest Hollywood offering of 2026 at the global box office with $297 million in ticket sales (Chinese sports comedy Pegasus 3 ranks No. 1 overall at $609 million). Domestically, fell only 31 percent to $12.2 million for a domestic tally of $138.6 million as it continues to redeem Pixar’s ability to turn out original fare (Elio‘s entire domestic cume was $72.9 million). Overseas, it earned another $24.8 million for a foreign tally of $159 million
Duking it out for third place are They Will Kill You and two holdovers: Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the latest installment in the Indian action-thriller starring Ranveer Singh; and Universal’s movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him.
The Warners-owned New Line and Skydance’s genre label partnered on They Will Kill You long before talks of a merger, and is reporting an estimated $5 million opening domestically and $9 million globally (rival studios show it coming in lower, so nothing is official until Monday when weekend actuals are tallied).
The new action-horror-comedy follows Satan-worshipping tenants living in a luxury New York City building who perform ritualistic killings on their mostly poor and marginalized staff. Filmmaker Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!) directed from a script he co-wrote with Alex Litvak. The film has a decent 79 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the 65 percent critics’ score is also in the fresh zone (The critics’ score has been fluctuating, and was in the low 70s several days ago). While solid, PostTrak exits aren’t spectacular either.
From Universal, Reminders of Him took in an estimated $4.7 million domestically and $4.9 million overseas for an early worldwide tally of $69.5 million. Like Hail Mail and Hoppers, the female-fueled pic also enjoyed a great hold of 41 percent.
More to come.
This story was originally published March 28 at 12:59 p.m.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Facts Only
*Project Hail Mary* grossed $300.8 million globally in its second weekend, becoming the top Hollywood film of 2026.
The film earned $54.5 million domestically in its second weekend, a 32% drop from its $80.6 million debut.
Overseas, it grossed $136.2 million, with a 10-day domestic total of $164.3 million.
Ryan Gosling stars as a biologist who awakens alone on a spaceship and teams up with an alien named "Rocky."
The film is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and based on Andy Weir’s novel.
Amazon MGM Studios now holds the record for its highest-grossing film, surpassing *Creed III*.
*Hoppers*, a Pixar film, has grossed $297 million globally, ranking second among Hollywood films in 2026.
*Reminders of Him*, a Universal adaptation, earned $4.7 million domestically in its second weekend.
*They Will Kill You*, a horror-comedy from New Line and Skydance, opened to an estimated $5 million domestically.
Skydance, owned by David Ellison, is in talks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
President Donald Trump has supported the Skydance-Paramount deal, citing ties to Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father.
Executive Summary
*Project Hail Mary*, the sci-fi film starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, has surpassed $300 million globally in its second weekend, making it the highest-grossing Hollywood title of 2026 to date. Domestically, it earned $54.5 million in its second weekend, a 32% drop from its $80.6 million debut—the best hold for a film in its opening range in recent years. Overseas, it has grossed $136.2 million, with strong word-of-mouth driving sustained performance. The film, based on Andy Weir’s novel, follows Gosling as a biologist who awakens alone on a spaceship and teams up with an alien to save Earth. Amazon MGM Studios, which acquired the studio, now holds the record for its highest-grossing film, surpassing *Creed III*.
Other notable performers include Pixar’s *Hoppers*, which has grossed $297 million globally, and Universal’s *Reminders of Him*, which saw a strong 41% hold in its second weekend. Meanwhile, *They Will Kill You*, a horror-comedy from New Line and Skydance, opened to mixed but decent reviews. The box office success comes amid industry shifts, including Skydance’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which could reshape Hollywood’s studio landscape.
Full Take
**Steelman:** *Project Hail Mary*’s box office dominance is a genuine success story, showcasing the power of strong word-of-mouth, star power, and Amazon MGM’s growing influence in Hollywood. The film’s performance defies typical sci-fi struggles in international markets, and its emotional core resonates across audiences. The broader context—Skydance’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery—highlights a pivotal moment in media consolidation, with political ties (Trump’s support for Ellison) adding intrigue.
**Pattern Scan:** The article leans into industry hype, framing *Project Hail Mary* as a rare, unifying cultural moment ("once in a blue moon"). While not overtly manipulative, the emphasis on "collective word-of-mouth" and "heartwarming undercurrents" borders on emotional appeal (ARC-0012 Emotional Exploitation). The political aside about Trump’s support for Skydance feels tangential, potentially introducing a distraction (ARC-0031 Topic Drift).
**Root Cause:** The narrative assumes that box office success equates to cultural significance, ignoring broader trends like streaming’s impact on theatrical releases. The focus on studio consolidation (Amazon, Skydance) reflects a paradigm where corporate power, not creative merit, drives industry shifts.
**Implications:** For audiences, this means fewer independent voices and more franchise-driven content. For studios, it’s a high-stakes game of vertical integration. The political angle—Trump’s backing of Ellison—raises questions about regulatory capture and media monopolies.
**Bridge Questions:**
How does *Project Hail Mary*’s success compare to non-franchise films in past decades?
What risks does Skydance’s potential acquisition pose to creative diversity?
Could the film’s performance be a fluke, or does it signal a resurgence in original sci-fi?
**Counterstrike Scan:** A bad actor might amplify the "rare cultural moment" framing to manufacture consensus around Amazon’s dominance. However, the article’s focus on data and industry context doesn’t align with a coordinated push—it’s more celebratory than manipulative.
Patterns detected: ARC-0012 Emotional Exploitation (mild), ARC-0031 Topic Drift
Sentinel — Human
The text shows signs of human authorship. While some coordination indicators are present, they do not consistently point towards synthetic origin. The text demonstrates a clear, idiosyncratic emphasis and includes personal voice and stylistic fingerprint.