Amazon MGM Studios has finally stepped into the spotlight. Four years after Amazon acquired the legacy studio and almost three years after its last major hit, “Creed III,” the distributor has its first homegrown breakout, “Project Hail Mary.” The Phil Lord and Chris Miller-directed adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel pulled in a fantastic $80.5 million domestically and an incredible $140.9 million worldwide.
The biggest solo debut of Ryan Gosling’s career, “Hail Mary” cost a reported $190 million, but earned an A CinemaScore and super reviews, including a 77 on Metacritic and a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The studio is touting this as the biggest “original” and “non-sequel” opening since “It” in 2017, and it’s just under the $82 million “Oppenheimer” grossed in July 2023. With no major tentpoles dropping next weekend, “Hail Mary” has a somewhat clear window until “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is set to explode on April 1.
Again, the last big MGM opening was “Creed III,” Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, which took in $58.3 million in May 2023, but that movie was greenlit and overseen by the previous regime. Other notable debuts for the distributor since the merger include “The Beekeeper” with $19 million over the 2024 MLK Weekend, “The Accountant 2” with $24.5 million in April 2025, and “A Working Man” and “Challengers,” which took in $15 million each.
Pixar’s “Hoppers” dropped to third with another $18.2 million for $122 million domestic and $242 million global. Considering the “Hail Mary” competition, word of mouth helped, as it dropped just 37% from last weekend. It just opened in China, which should help it reach $300 million or more when all is said and done.
In something of a surprise, the Hindi-language sequel “Dhurandhar The Revenge” took the third spot with $9.6 million in just 987 theaters, for a stellar $9,698 per screen. The international total for “Dhurandhar” appears to be over $40 million U.S. so far. The first film in the franchise, released in December, took in $19.7 million in the U.S. and over $137 million worldwide.
The fourth spot went to “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” with $9.1 million domestic and $11.9 million globally, so far in a limited overseas opening. The long-awaited sequel to the 2019 breakout came in slightly under pre-release projections between $10-14 million. Disney and Searchlight had the film set to open on March 27, but pushed it ahead a week when Warner Bros. didn’t budge on “The Will Kill You,” a similarly themed comedy action horror flick. One has to assume Disney distribution did not take into account how much both the NCAA tournament and “Hail Mary” would siphon off their audience (55% of “Hail Mary” ticketbuyers were men under 35). With a production budget of around $18-19 million, Searchlight will hope for solid legs with a B+ CinemaScore and a 90% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes moviegoers over the next few weeks. One silver lining, the first “Ready or Not” has been no. 1 on Hulu all weekend.
Among other releases, “Reminders of Him” dropped 55% for to hit $33.1 million domestic and $54 million worldwide. “Scream 7” is at $114 million domestic and $193.8 million global, while “GOAT” is inching closer to that $100 million mark in the U.S. with $97.5 million stateside and $174.5 million across the world.
In limited release, “Tow,” starring recent Oscar nominee Rose Byrne, pulled in $131,020 or an OK $727 per screen. Sofia Coppola’s documentary “Marc by Sofia” had a strong $46,849 or $23,424 per screen. “Mirrors No. 3” pulled in $36,666, or $12,222 per screen, while “Dead Lovers” and “Two Prosecturs” earned $13,500 on one screen each.
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