“Project Hail Mary” jolted the box office awake with an $80.6 million domestic opening weekend — the largest debut of the year so far, and a reminder to Hollywood that audiences still crave family-friendly films.
The space epic’s massive opening, raking in over $140 million at the worldwide box office, also impressed as the second-largest debut for a non-franchise film in the last decade, trailing only “Oppenheimer,” which debuted in 2021 at $82.5 million.
The “Project Hail Mary” opening was also a win for Amazon MGM Studios, marking the studio’s biggest-ever start and far surpassing Amazon’s “Creed III,” which opened domestically in 2023 at $58.3 million.
“We all know theatrical is not an easy business. It’s tougher today I think than it’s ever been,” Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of domestic distribution, told The Associated Press. “And sci-fi movies, to break out to a broad audience, is not the easiest thing to do.”
“The next interesting piece will be how long can this movie play, which I think could be something special,” Wilson added.
Based on Andy Weir’s novel, “Project Hail Mary” follows middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), who wakes up alone on a spaceship with no recollection of how he got there — or his mission.
Gradually, Grace recalls he was recruited for a last-ditch effort to save Earth from a mysterious cosmic substance dimming the sun, and with humanity’s fate on the line, an unexpected friendship offers a glimmer of hope.
The PG-13 rated film has found broad appeal, boasting a 96% approval rating from audiences and 95% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, many of which have applauded the film as a crowd-pleasing family flick — likening it to classic “human-meets-alien” films such as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
“It’s a masterpiece of a family popcorn movie, with eye-popping hand-crafted production design and outstanding creature design and puppet work,” writes the San Francisco Chronicle. “They bring a Spielbergian sentiment and wonder to a film that’s both a throwback and forward-thinking.”
“At heart, this is a kids’ film in the guise of a 156-minute sci-fi adventure. It doesn’t want to awe us so much as it wants to awwww us,” writes Vulture. “For better and worse, it succeeds.”
Ryan Gosling, who stars in the film, said it was “very important” to him to make a movie he could enjoy with his kids — a genre he has discovered is underrepresented in Hollywood.
“(My wife) Eva and I look for films that we can go to with our whole family, and we find it hard to find,” the actor told The Christian Post.
“Obviously, this is the family business, making movies, but we want to go to the cinema too,” he continued. “And it’s hard to find something for all of us, especially if it’s not animated.”
Earning a PG-13 rating for some thematic material and suggestive references, “Project Hail Mary” is largely clean, containing almost no profanity and no nudity or sexual content — a rarity in PG-13 films.
The film’s breakout success follows on the heels of Pixar’s “Hoppers,” which debuted at No. 1 domestically, earning $46 million at the domestic box office — outperforming the studio’s other recent original openings, including 2025’s “Elio” at $20.8 million and 2023’s “Elemental” at $29.6 million.
Comparatively, films with an R rating have toppled at the box office this year. “Wuthering Heights” opened at $32.8 million, “Send Help” opened at $19.1 million and “Iron Lung” debuted at $17.9 million.
The numbers follow an increasing favor at the box office for family-friendly films, particularly those with a PG rating.
In 2025, “Zootopia 2,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “A Minecraft Movie” made the biggest bucks globally. All three are rated PG.
“There’s a stigma that PG is just for kids, but they appeal to everyone,” senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Variety last year. “It’s like comfort food. People know they won’t be bombarded with too much violence or language. It’s wholesome. There’s no shame in going to a PG movie if it’s good.”