By Kayla DeKraker
PROJECT HAIL MARY dominated the box office its second week in theaters, and we’re not surprised.
The sci-fi movie starring Ryan Gosling pulled $54.5 million over its second weekend and stayed in the No. 1 spot. So far, it has earned $164.3 million domestically, and Variety suggests it’s “the year’s first true blockbuster.”
According to Variety, the movie “only dropped 32% from its debut weekend, signaling the film will have staying power. Its impressive results are welcome news for Amazon MGM, which is investing heavily in theatrical movies by committing to releasing roughly a dozen films in cinemas annually.”
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, PROJECT HAIL MARY follows science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) who finds himself stranded in space lightyears from home with no memory of how he got there.
“As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction…but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone,” the synopsis reads.
Movieguide® called PROJECT HAIL MARY an “excellent science fiction thriller,” praising its “very strong Christian, morally uplifting worldview.”
“PROJECT HAIL MARY is a terrific space adventure with lots of humor and heart. It’s a thoroughly uplifting movie with little objectionable content such as two minor references to evolution,” the review says. “Those mentions are counterbalanced by the movie’s Christian title and a lovely reference to God and faith midway in the story, which set the tone for PROJECT HAIL MARY’s exhilarating finish. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children because of intense scenes of peril.”
Amazon MGM reportedly spent $200 million making the movie, and thanks to its family-friendly themes, it looks like it’s well on its way to being the first major hit for the studio.
“I think we look for films that we can bring our family to, that we can go to the theater to see and kind of recreate some of those experiences that I had as a kid, and I felt like I had an opportunity with this one to do that,” Gosling told Movieguide®.
“I also felt like the optimism in this film was something that I wanted to share with my kids, the sense that that maybe the future isn’t something to be feared but just to be figured out,” the father of two added.
PROJECT HAIL MARY certainly beat out last weekend’s only other major release, a horror movie called THEY WILL KILL YOU, which only earned $5 million, taking the No. 3 spot at the box office.
HOPPERS, which released early in March, secured second place, adding $12.2 million to its projected gross of $138.6 million in North America.
The success of movies like PROJECT HAIL MARY and HOPPERS should remind studios of what audiences really want — wholesome films with heart and uplifting themes.
Read Next: PROJECT HAIL MARY Opens to Packed Theaters with $141M Worldwide
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