‘Project Hail Mary’ Makes $12 Million in Previews

Ryan Gosling‘s “Project Hail Mary” is blasting off at the box office.

Amazon MGM’s sci-fi movie, based on author Andy Weir’s popular novel, has made $12 million in previews at the box office, the biggest of the year so far. It beat the $7.8 million preview haul by “Scream 7,” and it could overtake the horror movie for the highest box office opening of 2026.

“Project Hail Mary” is projected to make between $63 million and $65 million in its opening weekend, which would make it Amazon MGM’s biggest launch ever. The company’s current opening record is held by the 2023 boxing movie “Creed III” with $58 million. With good reviews and positive word-of-mouth, the $200 million film could become the studio’s first original blockbuster.

Gosling, who’s already been to space in “First Man” and heading to a galaxy far, far away in “Star Wars: Starfighter,” plays high school teacher turned astronaut Ryland Grace in “Project Hail Mary,” directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Ryland is tasked with saving Earth after the Sun is discovered to be dimming and causing a global cooling. Out in space, Ryland also meets a a five-legged alien named Rocky whom he befriends. The cast also includes Sandra Huller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub and more.

“Project Hail Mary” comes four years after tech giant Amazon acquired MGM Studios for $8 billion. There have been some financial wins for the studio, like “Creed III” and “The Beekeeper,” but a lot of misses, like “After the Hunt,” “Melania” and “Crime 101.” However, with Amazon’s $2.2 trillion market cap, the deep-pocketed company doesn’t have to rely on its films to recoup their entire budgets, mainly just the marketing and distribution costs.

Also opening this weekend is Searchlight’s horror sequel, “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.” Samara Weaving returns to play a diabolical game of hide-and-seek, and she’s joined by Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood and more. It made $1.2 million in previews.