Ryan Gosling’s Sci-Fi Masterpiece Obliterates His 2018 Space Cult Classic in Just 4 Days

It has long been known that the world loves Ryan Gosling when he’s on the ground, from stealing hearts as Ken to introducing us to his Real Girl. But boy, did we not realize just how much we’d love him in space. Last weekend, Project Hail Mary finally made its theatrical debut and smashed all expectations. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and based on a bestseller by The Martian author Andy Weir, the film has raced ahead of the box office competition, officially scoring the highest-grossing opening of any movie this year, as well as the largest opening weekend haul for an Amazon MGM title.

In just three days, the film has earned a global haul of $140 million, split between $80 million in domestic revenue and an additional $60 million from overseas markets, surpassing the domestic debuts of iconic sci-fi favorites Inception and Interstellar. This will come as little surprise to anyone keeping an eye on the critics’ response to the movie, with the film officially Gosling’s highest-rated ever on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, earning a near-perfect 94% from critics and 96% from audiences. The consensus on the site 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.”

For all this talk of Gosling’s genius journey into space, we are quickly forgetting that the actor had already delivered a mission to the stars just eight years ago. That film is First Man, a Damien Chazelle biopic about Neil Armstrong‘s journey to the moon and the Apollo 11 mission. Although the film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, it disappointed at the box office, earning a lifetime domestic haul that Project Hail Mary has already almost doubled.

What Did Collider Say About ‘Project Hail Mary’?

In his review for Collider, Ross Bonaime gushed like the rest of the world over Project Hail Mary, dubbing it “the first great film of 2026.” Bonaime said, “Project Hail Mary is the type of rousing, exciting blockbuster filmmaking that we rarely see these days, at least not at the levels that Lord and Miller are working at here. This is the kind of grand adventure that’ll have you bowled over laughing one minute and tearing up the next before making you applaud the experience as the credits roll. Lord and Miller have created a new sci-fi classic, an incredible adaptation of Weir’s novel, and a film that deserves to be a part of 2027 Oscar consideration already.”

Project Hail Mary is in theaters now. Stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates.