“Project Hail Mary” became Amazon MGM’s biggest box office hit

Amazon’s bet on “Project Hail Mary” has paid off well, as the film recently surpassed “Creed III” to become the company’s highest-grossing film of all time.

It was a big bet, with a budget of about $200 million. That’s a high price to pay for any movie, but especially one that’s not a sequel or part of an existing franchise. Instead, it’s based on the best-selling sci-fi novel by Andy Weir, whose book “The Martian” was made into a hit movie a decade ago.

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

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

This 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 that’s good news for what is now known as Amazon MGM Studios. The company’s film ambitions have evolved over time, from distributing smaller, critically acclaimed titles like “The Big Sick” and “Manchester by the Sea” to recently acquiring the MGM film studio (leading to a battle for control of the James Bond franchise) and announcing its intention to bring 14 films to theaters each year.

Until “Hail Mary,” these films — including “After the Hunt,” “Mercy” and the controversial documentary “Melania” — seemed to fall flat with audiences.

Amazon’s head of film, Courtenay Valenti, told the New York Times that the big opening weekend for “Project Hail Mary” validated the company’s strategy of producing “big, bold commercial entertainment films.” It has more films hitting theaters soon, including The Sheep Detectives starring Hugh Jackman in May, and then the Masters of the Universe reboot in June.