Nova in War for the Planet of the Apes.Image via 20th Century Fox
Having completed three weeks of release, Project Hail Mary passed a monumental milestone at the global box office this weekend. The sci-fi epic, based on a bestseller by Andy Weir, is closing the gap between itself and The Martian, also adapted from a Weir novel. The Martian grossed $630 million worldwide in 2015, against a reported budget of around $110 million. Project Hail Mary reportedly cost twice as much. The new blockbuster was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in their directorial comeback, years after they were unceremoniously fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling, who is heading to the galaxy far, far away with next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter.
The movie opened to near-unanimous praise and is now sitting at a “Certified Fresh” 94% critics’ score and a “Verified Hot” 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The aggregator website’s 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.” Like The Martian, Lord and Miller’s film is a shoo-in for a Best Picture Oscar nod and has overtaken several sci-fi classics during the course of its nearly monthlong run. Among the recent films to have made way for it are Bumblebee, the Transformers prequel with a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, and a critically acclaimed trilogy-capper directed by Matt Reeves.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
‘Project Hail Mary’ Has Overtaken a Sci-Fi Blockbuster with the Same Rotten Tomatoes Score
With $510 million at the worldwide box office so far, Project Hail Mary has passed the $490 million lifetime haul of Reeves’ War for the Planet of the Apes. Released in 2017, the sci-fi epic was headlined by a returning Andy Serkis, who broke new ground in the performance capture arena as the revolutionary ape Caesar. Serkis previously played the character in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Reeves. The third film was critically acclaimed; like Project Hail Mary, it holds a 94% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a consensus that reads, “War for the Planet of the Apes combines breathtaking special effects and a powerful, poignant narrative to conclude this rebooted trilogy on a powerful — and truly blockbuster — note.” The long-running sci-fi franchise continued with director Wes Ball‘s soft reboot Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, while Reeves moved on to launch a new series with The Batman. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
