Weekend Box Office: Project Hail Mary Scores Big Win for Amazon MGM
Last weekend these accountable for bringing Rocky again to the massive display, Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler, each received Oscars. Less than per week later, a brand new Rocky was born on the massive display reverse Ryan Gosling. Great evaluations from critics have been constructing buzz for a number of weeks, and it resulted in Amazon MGM having its finest opening to this point. Now will word-of-mouth contribute to it changing into Amazon’s first main success since buying MGM, and can or not it’s that studio’s first nice success since, effectively, the Creed movies?
King of the Crop: Project Hail Mary Scores Big Win for Amazon MGM
Ryan Gosling was definitely an integral half to the success of Barbie, however it was the model and Margot Robbie that had prime billing. Up till now, Gosling’s prime opening was a part of one other model in Blade Runner 2049, which opened to $32.7 million again in 2017. Last 12 months’s The Fall Guy ($27.7 million) was thought of a serious flop (as was BR2049), however don’t neglect the success of La La Land, which grossed over $446 million worldwide, and certainly somebody needs a shoutout to The Notebook’s $81 million home haul from 2004. This weekend’s launch of Project Hail Mary bought off to an ideal begin with $80.6 million. The Amazon MGM launch based mostly on the favored novel by Martian author Andy Weir is carrying a hefty price ticket of $200 million, the costliest undertaking to be headlined by Gosling to this point. Does it have an opportunity of hitting the revenue column in theaters?
The Martian with Matt Damon opened to $54.3 million in October 2015 and went on to gross greater than 4 occasions that with $228.3 million home and over $619 million globally. Project Hail Mary simply had the ninth-best March opening ever with $80.5 million. That is after earlier projections had it as little as $50 million some weeks in the past earlier than it rose to the mid-60s within the run as much as its launch. Confidence in an ideal film and getting the phrase out early with critics boosting assist appears to have labored. If it had opened below its authentic projections, it’s attention-grabbing to notice that, of the March releases to open between $50-70 million, just one made it over $200 million, and that was Disney’s 2015 live-action Cinderella.
Five of these 11 movies have been even animated, and solely 4 tripled their opening weekend. In reality solely seven movies in March to open over $50 million tripled their begin, and 6 of them have been animated, with Dune: Part Two being the exception. So maybe a mixture of sci-fi and household enchantment will assist give Hail Mary the push it wants for the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller adaptation to be a winner for Amazon MGM after the triple duds of Mercy, Melania, and Crime 101 this 12 months. $70+ million March openers haven’t at all times translated to $200 million, as John Wick: Chapter 4, Us, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will let you know
Here is an attention-grabbing stat, although: Certified Fresh at 95% on the Tomatometer, Project Hail Mary has earned the perfect rating for any large launch in 2026. Audiences have given it an A Cinemascore. Films which have had that grade, a 90%+ rating on the Tomatometer, and a $75-90 million opening have included Skyfall, Dune: Part Two, Oppenheimer, 2009’s Star Trek, and Zootopia. All grossed no less than $250 million. Yes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and X-Men: Days of Future Past additionally opened to over $90 million and didn’t clear as a lot, however $233 million as a flooring is an affordable concession to get this to the half million that Amazon MGM is hoping for. Internationally it added $60 million for a gap of practically $141 million.
Tales of the highest 10: Hoppers Holds Strong, Ready or Not 2 Opens Low
Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers fell to second, however with solely a 37% drop to $18 million. After 17 days the unique animated characteristic is as much as $120.3 million. Looking at different animated March releases, we will see Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($158.3 million), Ice Age: The Meltdown ($147.2 million), Monsters vs. Aliens ($140.2 million), How to Train Your Dragon ($133.4 million), Kung Fu Panda 4 ($132.9 million), Home ($129.0 million), The Croods ($125.3 million), Horton Hears a Who ($117.5 million), Ice Age ($116.8 million), and The Boss Baby ($116.7 million) are all greater. Hoppers’ weekend is a bit forward of Ice Age: The Meltdown ($20.0 million) and behind The Croods ($20.6 million). Our estimate final week of ending round $170-180 million seems to be holding, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie getting into theaters in lower than 10 days. Globally the movie is over $242 million with worldwide now forward of its home complete, however its going to need round one other $100 million abroad earlier than it leaves theaters.
Entering in theaters in third place is Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the sequel to final 12 months’s 3.5-hour epic that grossed $19.7 million in North America and over $137 million globally. The sequel, clocking in at practically 4 hours, grossed $9.6 million over the weekend, the best ever for a Bollywood movie, and has made $13.5 million since opening on Wednesday. Dhurandhar opened to only $1.98 million in 391 theaters final December. The Revenge opened in 987 theaters.
You would possibly suppose that the primary Ready or Not was an enormous shock hit in theaters for it to get a sequel lastly so a few years later. In reality, the (then) Fox Searchlight launch opened to $8 million on the finish of August in 2019 and went on to gross $28.7 million and a smidge extra internationally. But for a $6 million manufacturing, these numbers are strong. The administrators, referred to as Radio Silence, went on to reboot the Scream sequence, for higher or worse, and had nice success there. Their vampire movie, Abigail, was a little bit of a disappointment, grossing solely $42 million worldwide on a $28 million finances. But right here they’re, again with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come opening to $9.1 million. The movie has been largely well-received by critics (Certified Fresh at 76%) and has a finances nearer to the unique ($14 million) than their follow-up movies. That mentioned, seven years didn’t broaden the bottom as a lot as they could have hoped for a sequel, and it’ll doubtless gross lower than the unique.
The newest Colleen Hoover adaptation, Reminders of Him, bought off to a greater debut than Regretting You, and it continues to outpace it with an $8 million second weekend (simply forward of the latter’s $7.8 million). Reminders additionally stands at $33.1 million after 10 days, whereas Regretting was at $27.2 million. The Nicholas Sparks weepie The Last Song again in 2010 had a $9.8 million second weekend and was as much as $36 million. It completed with practically $63 million. Reminders ending between $50-60 million seems to be the play. That, plus its worldwide haul of an extra $20 million to this point, can be a victory for the $25 million manufacturing.
Scream 7, the highest-grossing movie within the franchise, made $4.3 million in its fourth weekend, lower than what Scream VI did ($5.33 million), Scream 3 ($5.02 million), and 2022’s Scream ($4.75 million) did. But 7’s home gross is greater than any of them, now sitting at over $114 million. Globally it’s over $193 million and would be the third Hollywood launch to hit $200 million throughout the globe this 12 months. The movie wanted to recover from $127.2 million with the intention to double up its opening weekend, which isn’t going to occur. Last December’s Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 opened to $64 million and completed with $127.7 million for a a number of of 1.9956.
Sony’s animated GOAT added $3.5 million to its home haul, which now stands at over $97.5 million. It will hit $100 million, however internationally it has failed to attract the group it must be in revenue when it leaves theaters. Its $77 million world haul to this point has the $90 million manufacturing at $174 million complete. Domestically, it’s nonetheless not unhealthy for an authentic animated household movie. Another animated movie sneaking into the highest 10 this week is Viva Pictures’ launch of The Pout-Pout Fish. It opened in 1,854 theaters, grossed $1.5 million and has a decent 69% on the Tomatometer from critics who have been made conscious of its launch.
A24’s launch of Undertone bought off to a strong begin for the half-million-budgeted movie. This week it fell 68% to $3 million. The 10-day begin of $15.2 million is the tenth finest within the firm’s historical past, developing behind Midsommar ($15.99 million) and The Iron Claw ($15.96 million). The largest drops they’ve had for their large releases of two,000 theaters or greater embrace The Front Room (-74.0%), MaXXXine and The Smashing Machine (each falling 69.1%), Y2K (-67.6%), Men (-63.5%), Eddington (-62.9%), and The Green Knight (-61.8%). Undertone joins that listing, however the cash is already within the financial institution, which places the movie on a way more favorable listing.
Since The Blair Witch Project grossed over $140 million in 1999 whereas costing only a half 1,000,000, there haven’t been many to tug off such a feat with a finances below $1 million. Undertone now joins a really choose group of movies that features Paranormal Activity ($107.9 million), Napoleon Dynamite ($44.5 million), Fireproof ($33.4 million), Open Water ($30.6 million), Searching ($26.0 million), The Gallows ($22.7 million), Fruitvale Station ($16.1 million), His Only Son ($12.2 million), and Terrifier 2 ($10.6 million). In different information, Fathom’s launch of the MET Opera presentation of Tristan und Isolde made sufficient on Saturday ($722,000) to achieve the highest 10.
Beyond the Top 10: Wuthering Heights and THE BRIDE! Miss the Cut
Speaking of which, Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” grossed $475,000 to convey its home complete over $83 million. Globally the movie is over $234 million and is among the true early successes of 2026. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s THE BRIDE! misplaced practically 2,600 theaters this week, and consequently it fell practically 87% down to only $275,000. It is the second $90+ million budgeted movie this 12 months to final solely two weeks within the prime 10. That is a really unique listing over time, and 2026 has added this and Greenland 2: Migration to it.
In restricted launch information, Roadside’s launch of Stephanie Laing’s Tow with Rose Byrne grossed $131,020 in 180 theaters. Sofia Coppola’s documentary about Marc Jacobs, Marc by Sofia, was launched in two theaters by A24 this weekend, and it grossed an estimated $46,000. It will broaden into 10 markets subsequent week. Christian Petzold’s Mirrors No. 3 made $36,666 in three theaters. Music Box Films’ Late Shift made $14,300 in six theaters. In single theater information, Watermelon Pictures’ Palestine ’36 grossed a hefty $36,043, whereas Grace Glowicki’s Stink-O-Vision movie Dead Lover, which premiered at Sundance 2025, opened completely at New York’s IFC middle and grossed $13,500.
On the Vine: Zazie Beetz Cleans House in They Will Kill You
Premieres from the South by Southwest Film Festival are an enormous a part of subsequent week’s releases. The large large launch consists of Zazie Beetz within the Kill Bill/Sam Raimi mash-up of They Will Kill You from Warner Bros. In restricted launch there’s additionally The Craft in a shopping center, aka Forbidden Fruits, with Lili Reinhart, in addition to final 12 months’s SXSW premiere of Fantasy Life with Amanda Peet. Focus additionally exhibits us how we’re all going to die with The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist.
Full List of Box Office Results: March 20-22, 2026
- Project Hail Mary – $80.6 million ($80.6 million complete)
- Hoppers – $18.0 million ($120.3 million complete)
- Dhurandhar: The Revenge – $9.6 million ($13.6 million complete)
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – $9.1 million ($9.1 million complete)
- Reminders of Him – $8.0 million ($33.1 million complete)
- Scream 7 – $4.3 million ($114.5 million complete)
- GOAT – $3.5 million ($97.5 million complete)
- Undertone – $3.0 million ($15.2 million complete)
- The Pout-Pout Fish – $1.5 million ($1.5 million complete)
- MET Opera: Tristan und Isolde – $722,000 ($722,000)
Erik Childress will be heard every week evaluating field workplace on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast. [box office figures via Box Office Mojo]
Thumbnail picture by ©Amazon MGM Studios