Just last weekend, Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler, the creative minds behind the cinematic revival of Rocky, both celebrated Oscar wins. Barely a week later, a new iteration of the Rocky legacy made its debut on the big screen, starring opposite Ryan Gosling. This new film has garnered significant critical acclaim over several weeks, leading to Amazon MGM’s most successful opening to date. The question now is whether positive word-of-mouth will propel it to become Amazon’s first major triumph since acquiring MGM, and indeed, that studio’s most significant hit since the Creed series.
Box Office Champion: Project Hail Mary Delivers Huge Opening for Amazon MGM
While Ryan Gosling undeniably contributed to Barbie‘s success, the film’s brand and Margot Robbie were the primary draws. Prior to this, Gosling’s largest opening stemmed from another established franchise, Blade Runner 2049, which earned $32.7 million in 2017. Last year’s The Fall Guy ($27.7 million) was widely considered a significant box office disappointment (much like BR2049). However, we shouldn’t overlook the global success of La La Land, which took in over $446 million worldwide, and a nod to The Notebook‘s $81 million domestic gross from 2004 is also due. This weekend, the release of Project Hail Mary kicked off impressively with $80.6 million. This Amazon MGM production, adapted from the popular novel by Martian author Andy Weir, carries a substantial $200 million budget, making it Gosling’s most expensive leading role to date. Can it achieve theatrical profitability?
To put this in perspective, Matt Damon’s The Martian debuted with $54.3 million in October 2015, ultimately grossing more than four times that amount domestically with $228.3 million and over $619 million worldwide. Project Hail Mary has just secured the ninth-best March opening ever with $80.5 million. This figure significantly surpasses earlier forecasts, which had initially pegged its opening as low as $50 million several weeks ago, before rising to the mid-$60 million range closer to release. Strong critical reviews and early positive buzz appear to have paid off. Had it opened closer to its initial lower projections, it’s noteworthy that among March releases opening between $50-70 million, only one, Disney’s 2015 live-action Cinderella, managed to surpass $200 million.
Of the 11 films in that range, five were animated, and only four managed to triple their opening weekend earnings. In fact, only seven March films opening over $50 million tripled their initial take, with six of them being animated and Dune: Part Two as the sole exception. Therefore, a blend of sci-fi appeal and broader family interest might be crucial for the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller adaptation of Hail Mary to succeed for Amazon MGM, following the disappointing performances of Mercy, Melania, and Crime 101 this year. Even March openers above $70 million haven’t consistently reached $200 million, as evidenced by films like John Wick: Chapter 4, Us, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Here’s an intriguing statistic: With a Certified Fresh rating of 95% on the Tomatometer, Project Hail Mary boasts the highest score for any wide release in 2026. Audiences have also awarded it an A Cinemascore. Films that have achieved this combination — an A Cinemascore, a 90%+ Tomatometer rating, and an opening weekend between $75-90 million — include Skyfall, Dune: Part Two, Oppenheimer, 2009’s Star Trek, and Zootopia. All of these went on to gross at least $250 million. While Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and X-Men: Days of Future Past also opened over $90 million but earned slightly less, a $233 million floor would be a reasonable compromise to help Amazon MGM achieve its target of half a billion globally. Internationally, it added $60 million, bringing its global opening total to nearly $141 million.
Top 10 Highlights: Hoppers Maintains Momentum, Ready or Not 2 Starts Soft
Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers dropped to second place, but with a modest 37% decrease, taking in $18 million. After 17 days, the original animated feature has reached $120.3 million. Comparing it to other animated March releases, films like Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($158.3 million), Ice Age: The Meltdown ($147.2 million), Monsters vs. Aliens ($140.2 million), How to Train Your Dragon ($133.4 million), Kung Fu Panda 4 ($132.9 million), Home ($129.0 million), The Croods ($125.3 million), Horton Hears a Who ($117.5 million), Ice Age ($116.8 million), and The Boss Baby ($116.7 million) have all grossed more at this point. Hoppers’ weekend take is slightly ahead of Ice Age: The Meltdown ($20.0 million) but behind The Croods ($20.6 million). Our previous week’s projection of a final domestic gross around $170-180 million seems accurate, especially with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arriving in less than 10 days. Globally, the film has exceeded $242 million, with its international total now surpassing its domestic haul, though it will aim for another $100 million overseas before concluding its theatrical run.
Debuting in third place is Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the follow-up to last year’s 3.5-hour epic which grossed $19.7 million in North America and over $137 million globally. The sequel, clocking in at nearly four hours, earned $9.6 million over the weekend, setting a new record for a Bollywood film, and has accumulated $13.5 million since its Wednesday opening. The original Dhurandhar opened with just $1.98 million across 391 theaters last December, while The Revenge launched in 987 theaters.
One might assume that the original Ready or Not was a significant sleeper hit to warrant a sequel so many years later. In actuality, the (then) Fox Searchlight release opened to $8 million in late August 2019, ultimately earning $28.7 million domestically and a bit more internationally. However, for a production budget of just $6 million, these figures were quite robust. The directing duo, known as Radio Silence, subsequently rebooted the Scream franchise, with mixed critical reception but considerable box office success. Their vampire film, Abigail, proved somewhat disappointing, grossing only $42 million worldwide against a $28 million budget. Now, they return with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, opening to $9.1 million. The film has been largely well-received by critics (Certified Fresh at 76%) and carries a budget closer to the original ($14 million) than their subsequent projects. Nevertheless, seven years didn’t expand the audience base as much as a sequel might hope, and it’s likely to gross less than its predecessor.
The latest Colleen Hoover adaptation, Reminders of Him, has had a stronger debut than Regretting You and continues to outpace it with an $8 million second weekend (just surpassing the latter’s $7.8 million). After 10 days, Reminders stands at $33.1 million, whereas Regretting was at $27.2 million at the same point. For comparison, the Nicholas Sparks tearjerker The Last Song in 2010 had a $9.8 million second weekend and reached $36 million, eventually finishing with nearly $63 million. Reminders is projected to finish between $50-60 million domestically. This, combined with its international earnings of an additional $20 million to date, will constitute a win for the $25 million production.
Scream 7, the highest-grossing film in the franchise, brought in $4.3 million in its fourth weekend, which is less than Scream VI ($5.33 million), Scream 3 ($5.02 million), and 2022’s Scream ($4.75 million) did at the same stage. However, 7’s domestic total is higher than any of those, now sitting at over $114 million. Globally, it has surpassed $193 million and is poised to become the third Hollywood release this year to hit $200 million worldwide. The film needed to exceed $127.2 million domestically to double its opening weekend, a feat it will not achieve. Last December’s Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 opened to $64 million and concluded with $127.7 million, resulting in a multiplier of 1.9956.
Sony’s animated GOAT added $3.5 million to its domestic total, which now stands at over $97.5 million. It is set to cross the $100 million mark domestically, but internationally, it has struggled to attract the audience necessary to turn a profit upon leaving theaters. Its $77 million global haul to date brings the $90 million production’s total to $174 million. Domestically, however, it’s still a respectable showing for an original animated family film. Another animated film making a quiet entry into the top 10 this week is Viva Pictures’ release of The Pout-Pout Fish. It opened in 1,854 theaters, grossed $1.5 million, and holds a decent 69% on the Tomatometer from critics who were aware of its release.
A24’s release of Undertone had a strong start for a film with a half-million-dollar budget. This week, it experienced a 68% drop, earning $3 million. Its 10-day total of $15.2 million ranks as the 10th best in the company’s history, trailing Midsommar ($15.99 million) and The Iron Claw ($15.96 million). The largest second-weekend drops for their wide releases (2,000 theaters or more) include The Front Room (-74.0%), MaXXXine and The Smashing Machine (both falling 69.1%), Y2K (-67.6%), Men (-63.5%), Eddington (-62.9%), and The Green Knight (-61.8%). Undertone now joins this list, but with its modest budget, the revenue earned already guarantees its success, placing it on a much more favorable ledger.
Since The Blair Witch Project grossed over $140 million in 1999 on a budget of just half a million, few films have achieved such a feat with under $1 million. Undertone now enters an exclusive group that includes Paranormal Activity ($107.9 million), Napoleon Dynamite ($44.5 million), Fireproof ($33.4 million), Open Water ($30.6 million), Searching ($26.0 million), The Gallows ($22.7 million), Fruitvale Station ($16.1 million), His Only Son ($12.2 million), and Terrifier 2 ($10.6 million). In other news, Fathom’s presentation of the MET Opera’s Tristan und Isolde earned enough on Saturday ($722,000) to secure a spot in the top 10.
Beyond the Top 10: Wuthering Heights and THE BRIDE! Fail to Impress
On that note, Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” grossed $475,000, bringing its domestic total to over $83 million. Globally, the film has surpassed $234 million, marking it as one of 2026’s genuine early triumphs. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s THE BRIDE! saw its theater count slashed by nearly 2,600 this week, resulting in an almost 87% plunge to just $275,000. It is the second film this year with a budget exceeding $90 million to exit the top 10 after only two weeks. This is a very uncommon occurrence historically, and 2026 has added both this film and Greenland 2: Migration to that exclusive roster.
In limited release updates, Roadside’s distribution of Stephanie Laing’s Tow, starring Rose Byrne, earned $131,020 from 180 theaters. Sofia Coppola’s documentary about Marc Jacobs, Marc by Sofia, debuted in two theaters this weekend via A24, grossing an estimated $46,000, with plans to expand into 10 markets next week. Christian Petzold’s Mirrors No. 3 took in $36,666 across three theaters. Music Box Films’ Late Shift made $14,300 in six theaters. In single-theater news, Watermelon Pictures’ Palestine ’36 grossed a substantial $36,043, while Grace Glowicki’s Stink-O-Vision film Dead Lover, which premiered at Sundance 2025, opened exclusively at New York’s IFC center and earned $13,500.
Upcoming Releases: Zazie Beetz Stars in Action-Packed They Will Kill You
Premieres from the South by Southwest Film Festival feature prominently among next week’s releases. The major wide release includes Zazie Beetz in the Kill Bill/Sam Raimi-esque action film They Will Kill You from Warner Bros. In limited release, audiences can also look forward to The Craft-meets-shopping-mall vibe of Forbidden Fruits, starring Lili Reinhart, as well as last year’s SXSW premiere, Fantasy Life with Amanda Peet. Focus also offers a glimpse into our potential doom with The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist.
Complete Box Office Results: March 20-22, 2026
- Project Hail Mary – $80.6 million ($80.6 million total)
- Hoppers – $18.0 million ($120.3 million total)
- Dhurandhar: The Revenge – $9.6 million ($13.6 million total)
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – $9.1 million ($9.1 million total)
- Reminders of Him – $8.0 million ($33.1 million total)
- Scream 7 – $4.3 million ($114.5 million total)
- GOAT – $3.5 million ($97.5 million total)
- Undertone – $3.0 million ($15.2 million total)
- The Pout-Pout Fish – $1.5 million ($1.5 million total)
- MET Opera: Tristan und Isolde – $722,000 ($722,000)
Erik Childress offers his box office analysis weekly on Business First AM with Angela Miles and through his Movie Madness Podcast. [box office figures via Box Office Mojo]
Thumbnail image courtesy of ©Amazon MGM Studios
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