Of all the many box office hits currently playing in theaters, such as Mortal Kombat IIand the Meryl Streepand Anne Hathaway-led The Devil Wears Prada 2, the year’s most defining success so far is the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-directed sci-fi masterpiece Project Hail Mary. Ryan Gosling‘s “amaze-ing” space adventure first debuted almost two months ago, and is still holding strong in the box office ranks. Across the most recent weekend, the film earned another $6.5 million domestically, taking its global haul over the $650 million mark.
Not just a financial success, the film is also a hit with critics, scoring a near-perfect rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. One critic wrote that “Project Hail Mary is everything we admire and deserve from the sci-fi genre. It’s amazing how such a simple tale of bravery and friendship can feel so transcendent in the right hands.” Another simply said, “Everybody’s going to love this movie.” However, this isn’t the first space adventure based on a bestseller by Andy Weirto achieve such cinematic success.
In 2015, Weir’s 2011 novel The Martian was transformed into a mesmeric theatrical experience that impressed the world. Directed by the great Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, the film scored a similar critical response to Project Hail Mary, as well as similar box office success, earning a global haul of $653 million, split between $228 million domestically and $425 million from international markets. As Project Hail Mary continues its impressive box office run, The Martian is proving popular on streaming, officially becoming one of the ten most-streamed movies on Peacock in the U.S., at the time of writing.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
Ridley Scott’s Next Sci-Fi Movie Has Been Delayed
After delivering an unforgettable space experience with The Martian, Scott has only made one other sci-fi movie with Alien: Covenant. This year, he’s returning to the genre he is most famous for with his next big project, The Dog Stars. The film features an eye-catching central cast, including Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce, and is based on the 2012 novel by Peter Heller. Originally set for a March 27, 2026, release date, the film was then moved to August 28, 2026, with an eye for a more awards season-friendly theatrical run.
The Martian is streaming on Peacock. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest streaming stories.
