Ryan Gosling’s “Project Hail Mary” Holds Top Spot in Second Weekend with $54.5 Million; “They Will Kill You” Flops with $5 Million
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, the sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling, maintained the top spot at the box office for the second consecutive weekend, earning $54.5 million. The film, which has grossed $164.3 million in the U.S. so far, appears to be the first true blockbuster of 2026, following the successes of films like Scream 7 and Hoppers.
A modest 32% drop in ticket sales compared to its opening week indicates that Project Hail Mary will have strong staying power in theaters. This success is welcome news for Amazon MGM, which has heavily invested in theatrical films, releasing approximately twelve movies in cinemas each year.
The film also reinforces Gosling’s ability to draw audiences; he plays a teacher on a desperate mission to save Earth while simultaneously positioning himself for awards season. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who previously faced a setback with Solo: A Star Wars Story, have now delivered a cinematic success. Writer Andy Weir, creator of The Martian and Project Hail Mary, now has two box office hits, and his future works are expected to generate competitive interest for film rights.
The only new release this week, the horror film They Will Kill You, performed poorly, earning $5 million across 2,778 theaters, landing in third place at the box office. Although its production budget was only $20 million, revenue-sharing with theaters makes this outcome a weak result for the studio.
They Will Kill You, starring Zazie Beetz as a maid and featuring Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham, Tom Felton, and Myha’la, was written and directed by Kirill Sokolov.
Disney and Pixar’s family film Hoppers took second place with $12.2 million and is projected to earn $138.6 million in North America and $297.6 million globally during its first four weeks. Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge earned $4.7 million, landing in fourth place, bringing its domestic total to $22.8 million.
Reminders of Him came in fifth with $4.7 million, pushing its domestic total to $41.1 million.
In limited release, Focus Features released the documentary The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, which earned $650,000 in 786 theaters. Neon also released the horror film Alpha, directed by Julia Ducournau (Titane), in 218 theaters, earning $121,000.
Universal also released a remake of The Mummy Returns, which earned $600,000 across 1,300 theaters, bringing its total to $202.7 million. Universal is preparing a new sequel featuring the original stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.
Next week, the highly anticipated The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a collaboration between Universal, Illumination, and Nintendo, will join the list of blockbusters and is expected to become one of the highest-grossing films of 2026. Ticket sales have already increased by 23%.
