Project Hail Mary rockets to $80.5M opening, tops 2026 box office

Project Hail Mary soared to the top of the box office this past weekend, earning over $80.5 million in North America and marking the biggest opening of the year so far.

The sci-fi adventure film, which stars Canadian actor Ryan Gosling, surpassed Scream 7’s $64.1 million debut in February, per Fortune, making it one of the biggest openings for a non-franchise film since 2023’s Oppenheimer. The film officially began its theatrical release on March 20.

According to Variety, the film has earned $140.9 million globally, a major win for Amazon MGM Studios. In the same report, Variety stated that the film was initially forecast to earn $65 million at the domestic box office, but strong reviews and positive word-of-mouth helped it soar higher.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, known for their work on hits like Jump Street, The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the film boasts impressive visual effects that makes its scenes realistic. 

The movie, based on New York Times bestselling author Andy Weir’s novel, follows Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up with amnesia aboard a spaceship. According to Yahoo Entertainment, Weir is also known for writing The Martian, another successful book-to-film adaptation.

Before Project Hail Mary, Scream 7 held the top spot for 2026, with around $114.5 million in domestic earnings, making it the highest-grossing film in the horror franchise, according to Box Office Mojo.

Coming in second this weekend was Disney’s Pixar film Hoppers which had the highest opening for a Pixar film in years.