‘Project Hail Mary’ Soars to $80.5 Million Opening, a Best for Amazon MGM

Ryan Gosling’s sci-fi epic, “Project Hail Mary,” blasted off to a $80.5 million debut in North American theaters, marking the biggest box office opening of the year and a significant win for Amazon MGM Studios. The film’s performance exceeded expectations, becoming Amazon MGM’s highest-grossing opening weekend, surpassing the $58 million earned by “Creed III” in 2023 .

A Much-Needed Hit for Amazon MGM

The success of “Project Hail Mary” is particularly noteworthy for Amazon MGM, which has been seeking a major box office hit following a series of underperforming releases. The film’s strong opening weekend is a welcome boost for Jeff Bezos’s Amazon MGM studios . Prior to this, “Creed III” held the studio’s opening weekend record.

Strong Performance Across the Board

“Project Hail Mary” also performed well internationally, earning $60.4 million from 82 markets, bringing its global total to $140.9 million . The film opened on 4,007 screens domestically.

Breaking Records and Comparisons

The $80.5 million opening positions “Project Hail Mary” as the largest debut of the year, surpassing “Scream 7’s” $63 million February opening . It is also the second-biggest opening for a non-franchise movie in the past decade, trailing only “Oppenheimer” ($82.4 million in 2023) . Alongside “Oppenheimer” and Jordan Peele’s “Us,” it is one of only three non-franchise films to open to over $70 million in the last ten years.

Positive Reception and Future Outlook

The film’s success was bolstered by positive reviews and advertising during the Oscars . Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM’s distribution chief, expressed confidence in the film’s continued success, noting the positive audience energy and word-of-mouth . Even as the film cost $200 million to produce and several million to market, the strong opening suggests a promising return on investment .

“Project Hail Mary” is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Andy Weir, author of “The Martian” .