Ryan Gosling's sci-fi film Project Hail Mary has soared past James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash to become the highest-grossing Hollywood film of the year in the United States. The movie earned $54.5 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $164.3 million, according to studio estimates.
The Amazon MGM production, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, cost $200 million to make and has already grossed $300.8 million worldwide. It surpassed Avatar: Fire and Ash, which had dominated the box office for the first three months of 2026 with $153.7 million domestically.
Globally, Project Hail Mary is the second highest-grossing film of the year, behind the Chinese racing comedy Pegasus 3, which has earned over $600 million. The film's second-weekend drop of just 32% exceeded the staying power of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which earned $46.7 million in its second weekend in 2023.
The movie's $80.5 million domestic opening weekend also set a record for the best non-franchise launch, surpassing Oppenheimer. It is a much-needed success for Amazon MGM after a series of flops, shattering the studio's previous opening weekend record held by Creed III ($58 million in 2023).
Gosling stars as a middle school science teacher tasked with saving the world on a space mission. The film, also starring Sandra Hüller and Lionel Boyce, benefited from positive reviews and trailers aired during the Oscars broadcast. The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey gave it four stars, calling it 'an alchemically perfected blend of past sci-fi greats'.
Next weekend, Project Hail Mary will face competition from Universal Pictures' The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which is expected to have one of the biggest openings of 2026.
