Project Hail Mary becomes Amazon MGM’s highest-grossing film

Amazon MGM Studios, the film production and distribution arm of Amazon, has secured its largest theatrical milestone to date. The studio’s science fiction release, Project Hail Mary, has officially surpassed Creed III to become the company’s highest-grossing movie ever. Based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir—whose book The Martian was adapted into a successful film a decade ago—the new release has established itself as the biggest hit of 2026 so far. The film stars Ryan Gosling, who appears as the only human actor on screen for long stretches of the movie.

The film’s performance represents a major return on a high-stakes theatrical bet. Project Hail Mary carried a reported budget of around $200 million, a substantial price tag for a non-franchise, non-sequel production. According to box office data from The Hollywood Reporter, the film has generated an estimated $164.3 million in North America and $136.2 million overseas after 10 days in theaters. Domestically, the film demonstrated strong holding power, falling 32% in its second weekend to bring in $54.5 million, indicating that its final box office numbers will continue to rise.

This commercial success provides a crucial proof of concept for Amazon MGM Studios as it scales its theatrical ambitions. The company has previously declared its intention to bring 14 movies into theaters every year. However, until this release, its theatrical slate had struggled to connect, with previous films including After the Hunt, Mercy, and the controversial Melania documentary seeming to fall flat with audiences.

In an interview with The New York Times, Courtenay Valenti, Amazon’s head of film, stated that the opening weekend for Project Hail Mary validated the company’s strategy of making “big, bold entertaining commercial films.” The studio has more movies coming to theaters soon, including The Sheep Detectives starring Hugh Jackman in May, followed by a Masters of the Universe reboot in June.

Why it matters

The success of Project Hail Mary validates Amazon MGM Studios’ strategy of producing “big, bold entertaining commercial films” after a string of underperforming releases.