Project Hail Mary Breaks 2026 Box Office Record With Preview Screenings

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Project Hail Mary has already broken a 2026 box office record.

A new report shows the sci-fi film starring Ryan Gosling has set a record for preview screenings. The movie, based on the novel Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, tells the story of astronaut Ryland Grace (Gosling) who wakes up with amnesia on a spaceship. His mission: save the Sun from fading. He’s not alone, though – he has a rocky alien companion.

According to Variety, Project Hail Mary has already earned $12 million in pre-release ticket sales, making it the biggest movie debut of 2026 so far. This surpasses the previous record of $7.8 million held by Scream 7. However, experts predict this is just the start of a very successful run for the film.

Early estimates suggest that Project Hail Mary could earn as much as $65 million in the US during its opening weekend. This would be a significant success for a film released in 2026, and it would also be the largest opening weekend ever for Amazon MGM Studios, the movie’s main distributor.

Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me at all that Project Hail Mary is doing so well! Everyone’s been raving about it – the critics love the sci-fi aspects, and they’re saying the characters are really engaging and the story is genuinely moving. As of today, it’s sitting pretty with a 95% ‘Certified Fresh’ rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences are really into it too, giving it a ‘Verified Hot’ 97%!

Ryan Gosling stars in the new movie directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the team behind popular films like 21 Jump Street and The LEGO Movie. They also wrote the acclaimed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The script was penned by Drew Goddard, who previously wrote the 2015 hit The Martian, another adaptation of a novel by Andy Weir and starring Matt Damon.

Ryan Gosling has experience playing astronauts – he previously starred as Neil Armstrong in the Oscar-winning film First Man. And he’s heading back to space again in the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter, scheduled for release on May 28, 2027.

Now that Project Hail Mary is already doing well in theaters and broke preview records, it’s expected to continue its successful run, especially as opening weekend unfolds. Current estimates suggest strong performance in the US could be the beginning of even greater success.

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2026-03-20 18:20