Project Hail Mary arrives in theaters today amid massively positive reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 98% audience score), and the sci-fi adaptation is looking at a very impressive debut at the worldwide box office.
According to the latest updates, the movie is expected to take in around $100 million globally, with $63 million from North American markets alone. PHM has already made $12 million in previews, beating Scream 7's $7.8 million preview haul to give it the biggest opening of the year.
A great start, for sure, but it's worth noting that Project Hail Mary comes with a reported $248 million ($200 million after tax credits) price tag.
"With this one, there was no cheap version of this movie," writer Drew Goddard tells THR. "We’re not making this unless we’re big and swinging for the fences. But it did feel like the type of movie you could do that. It felt like the type of movie that you’re gonna bring your kids to, you’re gonna bring your grandparents to. That’s what you’re looking for to justify the budgets. And when I’m writing it, I try to be thoughtful. But I don’t try to ever undercut the ambition. I have a big imagination. Chris and Phil have an even bigger imagination. Once we’ve made the decision to say yes, we don’t really think about budget. It’s more about what’s going to make the best movie."
Directed by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and written by Drew Goddard (who also adapted Weir's The Martian for the screen), Project Hail Mary focuses on a middle-school science teacher named Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), who embarks on a perilous mission to save the planet - and finds an unlikely ally in the form of a strange alien he dubs "Rocky."
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Project Hail Mary is directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller from a screenplay by Drew Goodard, based on the novel by: Andy Weir. Producers include Amy Pascal, p.g.a., Ryan Gosling, Phil Lord, p.g.a., Christopher Miller, p.g.a., Aditya Sood, p.g.a., Rachel O’Connor, p.g.a., Andy Weir. Executive Producers: Patricia Whitcher, Drew Goddard, Sarah Esberg, Lucy Kitada, Nikki Baida, and Ken Kao.
The cast also features Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub. Project Hail Mary arrives in theaters on March 20, 2026.