‘Project Hail Mary’ becomes Amazon MGM’s biggest box office hit

Amazon’s bet on “Project Hail Mary” has paid off handsomely, with the film recently surpassing “Creed III” to become the company’s highest grossing movie ever.

And it was a big bet, with a reported budget of around $200 million. That’s a big price tag for any film, but especially one that’s not a sequel or part of an existing franchise. Instead, it’s based on a bestselling science fiction novel by Andy Weir, whose book “The Martian” was adapted into a successful film a decade ago. 

And that’s not the only thing that makes “Project Hail Mary” feel unconventional. For long stretches of the film, Ryan Gosling is the only human actor on screen, as the scientist he plays works with a rock-like alien to solve the mystery of of why multiple stars — including our own — seem to be dimming.

But after 10 days in theaters, “Project Hail Mary” has brought in an estimated $164.3 million in North America, as well as $136.2 million overseas, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Domestically, it only fell 32% in its second weekend, to $54.5 million, so its final box office numbers should be significantly higher when it leaves theaters.

That makes “Project Hail Mary” the biggest hit of 2026 (so far), as well as one of the most successful non-franchise, non-sequel films of the past decade. 

And it’s good news for what’s now known as Amazon MGM Studios. The company’s cinematic ambitions have evolved over time, from distributing smaller, critically acclaimed titles like “The Big Sick” and “Manchester by the Sea” to more recently acquiring movie studio MGM (leading to a battle for control of the James Bond franchise) and declaring its intention to bring 14 movies into theaters every year.

Until “Hail Mary,” those movies — including “After the Hunt,” “Mercy,” and the controversial “Melania” documentary — seemed to be falling flat with audiences.

Amazon’s head of film Courtenay Valenti told The New York Times that “Project Hail Mary”‘s big opening weekend validated the company’s strategy of making “big, bold entertaining commercial films.” And it has more movies coming to theaters soon, including “The Sheep Detectives” starring Hugh Jackman in May, then a “Masters of the Universe” reboot in June.