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NEW YORK (AP) — “Project Hail Mary” maintained its strong momentum during its second weekend in theaters, raking in an impressive $54.5 million, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. This performance solidifies its standing as the biggest box office success of the year so far.
The sci-fi adventure directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and starring Ryan Gosling, experienced a modest 32% drop in earnings following its remarkable debut. The film had the best non-franchise opening since “Oppenheimer” in 2023. In just two weeks, “Project Hail Mary” has accumulated a global gross of $300.8 million, distributed by Amazon MGM.
With a production budget approaching $200 million, “Project Hail Mary” faced no major new competitors and continued to dominate premium format screens. Meanwhile, the weekend saw the release of the K-pop documentary “BTS: The Return,” which opted for a direct-to-streaming debut on Netflix, potentially making it one of the most-watched films of the weekend.
“Project Hail Mary” is enjoying an impressive trajectory, boasting a second-weekend hold that surpasses that of “Oppenheimer,” which earned $46.7 million in its second weekend.
In contrast, Warner Bros.’s “They Will Kill You,” the weekend’s top new release, had a lackluster debut, earning just $5 million. The horror film, rated R and featuring Zazie Beetz as a woman who takes a job as a maid at an apartment complex with sinister intentions, failed to make a significant impact at the box office.
While the result was far from catastrophic for a movie with a modest $20 million budget, it did suggest that theaters may have become oversaturated in horror. David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, noted that there has been a new horror film released every weekend for the last 14 weekends.
That included last week’s “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” ($16.3 million domestically so far) and a second horror-comedy that also debuted this weekend. IFC’s “Forbidden Fruits,” about a coven of witches who work at a Texas mall, debuted with $1.2 million in sales.
Despite the glut, Gross is forecasting horror films will account for about $2.1 billion in North American ticket revenue in 2026, down from $2.75 million last year. While horror remains popular with audiences and relatively cheap to produce, the genre may be approaching overkill.
Meanwhile, family movies continue to thrive. The Pixar original “Hoppers” remained in second place with $12.2 million in its fourth weekend. The Walt Disney Co. release has accumulated $297.6 million globally.
Next weekend, though, it will face stiff competition in Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It’s expected to have the biggest opening of 2026.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Project Hail Mary,” $54.5 million.
2. “Hoppers,” $12.2 million.
3. “They Will Kill You,” $5 million.
4. “Dhurandhar The Revenge,” $4.8 million.
5. “Reminders of Him,” $4.7 million.
6. “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” $4 million.
7. “Scream 7,” $2.6 million.
8. “GOAT,” $2.2 million.
9. “Undertone,” $1.7 million.
10. “Forbidden Fruits,” $1.2 million.