Ryan Gosling’s New Sci-Fi Movie Officially Obliterates Tom Cruise’s Cult Classic 13 Years Later

After exceeding expectations in its opening weekend at the box office, the new sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary wound up shattering projections once again. The movie shot past the $300 million mark at the worldwide box office this past weekend, retaining the number one spot. It’s now pacing ahead of similar critically acclaimed big-budget tent-poles such as Oppenheimer and Dune: Part Two, not to mention its spiritual precursor, The Martian. Also based on a book by Andy Weir, The Martian grossed over $630 million worldwide in 2015. This should be the benchmark for success for Ryan Gosling‘s film, even though it cost around twice as much as Ridley Scott and Matt Damon‘s blockbuster.

Project Hail Mary was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who returned to feature filmmaking after almost a decade. They did, of course, work on Solo: A Star Wars Story before being let go midway through production by Lucasfilm due to creative differences. Lord and Miller couldn’t have asked for a more graceful way to respond to the unceremonious firing. They let their work do the talking, and Project Hail Mary doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down any time soon. The movie holds a “Certified Fresh” 95% critics’ score and a “Verified Hot” 96% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “A visually dazzling space odyssey that’s carried along effortlessly by the gravitational pull of Ryan Gosling at his most winning, Project Hail Mary is a near-miraculous fusion of smarts and heart.”

Related

Do You Know Ball? Prove Your Skills in Today’s Collider Movie Quiz!

Before March ends, we have to address the Madness. Time to run up and down the blacktop with some slick flicks that depict the game of basketball.

Find Out Which Sci-Fi Epic ‘Project Hail Mary’ Has Overtaken

With $300 million at the worldwide box office, the movie has already passed a handful of hit films. It took just 10 days, for instance, to overtake the $288 million gross of the 2013 sci-fi epic Oblivion, directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise. Like Project Hail Mary, Oblivion is also a visually stunning one-man show for the most part. The movie received mixed reviews and is now sitting at a 53% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Kosinski and Cruise partnered for the second time on the smash-hit legacy sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which earned nearly $1.5 billion worldwide and received near-unanimous praise from critics and audiences. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Release Date

March 20, 2026

Runtime

156 Minutes

Director

Christopher Miller, Phil Lord

Writers

Drew Goddard, Andy Weir

Producers

Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Aditya Sood, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor