Project Hail Mary Shatters Amazon's Opening Weekend Box Office Record
Project Hail Mary, from Amazon.com Inc.’s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, was the No. 1 film at the US and Canadian box office this weekend with $80.5 million worth of tickets, scoring the highest grossing debut of any movie this year.
'Project Hail Mary' Becomes Amazon's Highest-Grossing Film Debut
Amazon.com Inc.'s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio celebrated a massive victory this weekend as "Project Hail Mary" rocketed to the top of the US and Canadian box office, pulling in an estimated $80.5 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend. The science fiction adaptation, based on Andy Weir's bestselling novel, now holds the distinction of being the highest-grossing debut of any film released this year, surpassing all previous 2025 openings by a significant margin.
The impressive haul also marks a historic milestone for Amazon's film division, representing the company's biggest theatrical debut since it acquired MGM in 2022. The result signals that Amazon's strategy of investing heavily in tentpole theatrical releases is paying off, positioning the tech giant as an increasingly formidable player in the traditional Hollywood studio landscape. Industry analysts noted that the film's performance exceeded even the most optimistic projections, which had estimated an opening weekend in the range of $55 million to $65 million.
Critics and audiences alike have embraced the film, which tells the story of a lone astronaut who must save Earth from an extinction-level threat while stranded in a distant star system. The movie has earned strong reviews and an enthusiastic reception from general audiences, a combination that bodes well for its long-term performance at the box office. Word-of-mouth buzz and repeat viewings are expected to sustain ticket sales well into the coming weeks.
The success of "Project Hail Mary" comes at a pivotal moment for the film industry, which has been searching for reliable blockbusters to draw audiences back to theaters. For Amazon, the result validates its multibillion-dollar bet on MGM and its commitment to theatrical distribution as a complement to its Prime Video streaming platform. Studio executives expressed confidence that the film's strong opening is just the beginning, with international markets set to contribute additional revenue as the movie expands its global rollout in the weeks ahead.