Ryan Gosling’s sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary from Amazon MGM Studios had a huge $12 million in Thursday previews. This is the highest preview gross of 2026 so far and the second-highest ever for a movie that isn’t a sequel. This huge opening, which was even better than Oppenheimer’s previews, shows that a lot of people are excited to see the movie version of Andy Weir’s best-selling book, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
The $12 million total comes from $8.5 million from Thursday night shows, $3 million from early Monday access screenings, and $0.5 million from 70mm previews the weekend before. Friday brought in another $19–21 million, bringing the total to $33 million on opening day (including previews). Analysts now expect a $71–80 million opening weekend in the US, breaking Amazon MGM’s previous records like Creed III and topping the charts for 2026.
Ryan Gosling is about to have his second-best opening weekend, beating out recent movies like The Fall Guy ($27.7M) and Blade Runner 2049 ($32.7M) after Barbie’s $162 million debut. The movie, which stars Sandra Hüller, booked 4,000 screens, including all IMAX and premium formats. This boosted premium ticket sales and set it up for a possible $250 million domestic run with strong word-of-mouth.
