‘Project Hail Mary’ Box Office Rocketing to $77M-Plus Opening

Filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s golden touch continues with space epic Hail Project Mary, starring Ryan Gosling.

Friday’s opening-day gross of $33.1 million, including $12 million in previews, puts the film on course for a better-than-expected domestic opening of $77 million-plus, according to Amazon MGM Studios.

Only three non-sequel, non-franchise films have opened above $50 million in the post-pandemic era; Oppenheimer, F1: The Movie and It End With Us. And only two, Oppenheimer and It, crossed $70 million. In terms of the genre itself, Project Hail Mary would share rarefied air with Interstellar’s opening in 2014.

Heading into the weekend, Project Hail Mary was looking at a debut of $50 million-plus, but quickly went into hyperdrive when critics and audiences embraced the warm-hearted, adventure-action movie in almost equal measure. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to have screenwriter Drew Goddard back in the fold after successfully adapting another Weir novel, The Martian, for the big screen.

The movie, also starring Sandra Hüller and James Ortiz , is opening in 82 markets around the globe timed to its U.S. launch, including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Korea, Japan, and China.

Among the weekend’s other wide releases to watch is Searchlight Pictures’ horror-comedy Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. The film, directed by filmmaking duo Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett), stars Samara Weaving reprising her role as the fan-favorite, Grace.

Ready Or No 2, receiving solid reviews and audience scores, is looking at a fourth-place with an estimated $9 million. Internationally, the film also opens in territories including the UK, Australia and Brazil, along with additional smaller markets. It will be open almost everywhere by mid-April. Among holdovers, Pixar and Disney’s Hoppers is holding firmly at No. 2.

This story was originally published March 20 10:39 a.m.