2026 has the potential to be one of the biggest years yet for sci-fi, as there are many highly anticipated titles on the horizon. One of the most exciting is Project Hail Mary, Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s adaptation of the Andy Weir novel of the same name. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a science teacher who embarks on a mysterious mission to discover why the sun is dying so he can save Earth. Project Hail Mary is scheduled to debut in theaters in March, and Amazon MGM has been doing its part to generate hype. Based on the Project Hail Mary trailers that have been released so far, the film looks like it will be an emotional and thrilling ride bolstered by impressive spectacle.
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Project Hail Mary is the first directorial effort from Lord and Miller since the duo was infamously fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Though Lord and Miller went on to achieve tremendous success producing the Spider-Verse franchise, Project Hail Mary is something of a comeback for them, as they have a new opportunity to leave their mark on sci-fi. There’s also a redemption arc in play for Gosling, who previously portrayed an astronaut in a movie that bombed at the box office: Damien Chazelle’s First Man.
First Man Is Great, But Fell Short at the Box Office
During the lead-up to First Man‘s premiere back in 2018, there was a fair amount of justifiable buzz surrounding the project. Chazelle had quickly established himself as one of his generation’s rising filmmaking talents, having impressed audiences and critics with Whiplash and La La Land. He won the Oscar for Best Director for the latter, so everyone was excited to see what he’d do next. Reuniting with his La La Land co-star Gosling seemed like a recipe for success regardless of the subject matter, and the two teaming up for a historical biopic about famed astronaut Neil Armstrong meant First Man had potential to be a big Oscar contender.
Sadly, First Man didn’t make a significant impact. It opened in third place during its first weekend at the box office (making just $16 million domestically), trailing holdovers A Star is Born and Venom. First Man never recovered from that slow start, finishing its run with just $105.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $59 million. On the awards circuit, the drama earned a handful of Oscar nominations in technical categories (including one win for Best Visual Effects) but was blanked from the above-the-line categories like Picture, Director, and Actor. The reception to First Man was unfortunate, as it was not reflective of the film’s quality.
First Man earned widely positive reviews (87% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes), and it’s easy to see why. The film serves as an evolution of Chazelle’s craft, mixing awe-inspiring spectacle with an intimate examination of the first man to walk on the moon. From a technical perspective, First Man is a masterpiece, fully immersing audiences in the United States’ race to beat the Soviets to the moon. Any sequence involving NASA (especially the moon landing) is expertly constructed, highlighting the dangers of the task at hand. Gosling is also in peak form as Neil Armstrong, dialing back his natural charisma to portray a character who’s more reserved and introverted. All of these elements are complemented by Justin Hurwitz’s brilliant score that was worthy of awards consideration. First Man was overlooked, and hopefully Project Hail Mary won’t suffer the same fate.
Project Hail Mary Can Make Up for First Man
There’s still a handful of months to go before Project Hail Mary opens, but the signs are there that it could be the hit First Man wasn’t. For starters, there seems to be a lot of audience interest in Project Hail Mary. When the film’s first trailer premiered over the summer, it racked up 400 million views in one week — a new record for a movie that isn’t a remake or a sequel. That’s a very encouraging sign; it’s become more difficult for non-IP movies to stand out at the box office these days, though it looks like viewers have circled the Project Hail Mary release date on their calendars. Well before any word of mouth starts circulating, the film is already on people’s radars.
Project Hail Mary also seems to be in a spot where it could thrive at the box office. Whereas First Man went up against an Oscar frontrunner and a hit comic book adaptation in its opening weekend, Project Hail Mary isn’t facing as stiff of competition. It comes out two weeks after the one-two punch of Hoppers and The Bride!, neither of which are guaranteed box office draws (Pixar has to prove it can open an original film again). Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars arrives one week after Project Hail Mary and will be targeting sci-fi fans, but Scott’s box office track record has been up and down lately. Project Hail Mary could be the highest-profile release in March, especially if it garners the enthusiastic reactions people are anticipating.
Coincidentally, Project Hail Mary shares something in common with the biggest hit of Scott’s career, The Martian. Both films are based on Andy Weir novels, and Amazon is playing up that connection in Project Hail Mary marketing, tapping into the love audiences have for The Martian. Lord and Miller are drawing from compelling source material; the Project Hail Mary book received multiple accolades and award wins, indicating it’s a strong foundation for a heartfelt and exciting sci-fi film. The trailers have certainly hinted that viewers could be in for something special, teasing a funny and emotional movie that makes the best use of Gosling’s full range as a leading man. In this sense, Project Hail Mary could match First Man in terms of review scores while far exceeding its box office haul. Time will tell if Project Hail Mary can become an Oscar player a la The Martian, but sci-fi fans should have plenty to enjoy when it releases.
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