'Project Hail Mary' becomes Amazon MGM's biggest box office hit

The sci-fi film based on Andy Weir's novel has surpassed 'Creed III' as the company's highest-grossing movie.

Mar. 29, 2026 at 7:50pm by Ben Kaplan

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Amazon's big-budget sci-fi film 'Project Hail Mary' has become the company's highest-grossing movie ever, surpassing 'Creed III' at the box office. The film, based on Andy Weir's bestselling novel, has brought in over $300 million globally in its first 10 days of release, validating Amazon's strategy of producing 'big, bold entertaining commercial films'.

Why it matters

The success of 'Project Hail Mary' is a major win for Amazon's growing movie studio ambitions, which have evolved from distributing smaller, acclaimed titles to acquiring major studios like MGM and committing to releasing 14 films per year in theaters. The strong box office performance shows Amazon can produce original, non-franchise blockbusters that resonate with audiences.

The details

With a reported budget of around $200 million, 'Project Hail Mary' is a big bet for Amazon. The film, which stars Ryan Gosling as a scientist working with an alien to solve a cosmic mystery, is based on Andy Weir's bestselling novel. In its first 10 days, the film has grossed $164.3 million domestically and $136.2 million overseas, making it the biggest hit of 2026 so far and one of the most successful non-franchise, non-sequel films in the past decade.

  • On March 29, 2026, 'Project Hail Mary' was released in theaters.
  • In its second weekend, the film only fell 32% to $54.5 million domestically.

The players

Andy Weir

The author of the bestselling novel 'The Martian', which was previously adapted into a successful film.

Ryan Gosling

The lead actor in 'Project Hail Mary', playing a scientist who works with an alien to solve a cosmic mystery.

Courtenay Valenti

The head of film at Amazon, who stated that 'Project Hail Mary''s big opening weekend validated the company's strategy of making 'big, bold entertaining commercial films'.

Amazon MGM Studios

The movie studio formed after Amazon's acquisition of MGM, which is now responsible for producing and distributing films like 'Project Hail Mary'.

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What they’re saying

“Project Hail Mary's big opening weekend validated the company's strategy of making 'big, bold entertaining commercial films'.”

— Courtenay Valenti, Head of Film, Amazon

What’s next

Amazon MGM Studios has more high-profile films coming soon, including 'The Sheep Detectives' starring Hugh Jackman in May and a 'Masters of the Universe' reboot in June.

The takeaway

The success of 'Project Hail Mary' demonstrates Amazon's ability to produce original, big-budget blockbusters that can resonate with audiences, validating the company's evolving movie studio ambitions as it looks to compete with major Hollywood studios.