Project Hail Mary’s New Record Sets Up 2026’s Fiercest Competition For The Rest Of The Year

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Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace leaning forward in Project Hail Mary

Published Mar 30, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Zoë Miskelly is an editor and second in command for Screen Rant's Movies team, having covered the entertainment industry for almost 10 years now. Zoë's love of superheroes and all things Marvel & DC started out in childhood, and has blossomed into a career getting to talk about some of the biggest and best movies and shows of all time, having previously focused on comics while working at WhatCulture.

Project Hail Mary's early box office results are setting the bar for 2026 in many ways - and already look to have ensured a particularly fierce competition is underway for the rest of the year. The sci-fi adventures of Grace and Rocky in Project Hail Mary quickly connected with a huge assortment of fans, netting the film critical praise alongside a healthy box office result even in its first few days.

Project Hail Mary's Early Box Office Results Set Up A Huge Box Office Competition For 2026's Sci-Fi Movies

Ryan Gosling as Grace smiling after meeting Rocky in Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary has already had one of the strongest early results from a 2026 film thus far, with the movie grossing $300 million in its worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo). This includes the film having made a notable $54.5 million by the end of its second weekend in terms of its domestic box office alone, marking a considerable initial box office success for the film.

Indeed, Project Hail Mary's initial theatrical success has netted it the second-best sophomore weekend domestic gross in history for a non-franchise movie, which clearly reflects the release's considerable early gross, and appears to foreshadow a major box office result for its overall run - particularly since it's clear the film is popular both in domestic and worldwide markets, which is often a sign of a big box office heavy hitter.

While the movie has come early in the year, the fact Project Hail Mary has established itself with a sophomore weekend domestic gross that has only been beaten by Avatar when it comes to non-franchise films certainly bodes seriously well for it - especially given Avatar itself made $2.7 billion - and tees up 2026 for some major competition when it comes to sci-fi movies and their box offices.

With 2026 set to have some seriously major sci-fi movies release in the months after Project Hail Mary's debut, it should be fascinating to see how these films hold out compared to the March 2026 hit, and whether more established franchises are able to leverage this to greater fiscal results, or whether the unique appeal of Project Hail Mary holds out to crown it the biggest sci-fi film of the year.

Which Sci-Fi Movies Could Beat Project Hail Mary At The Box Office

Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides looking to one side in Dune Part Two

Of course, 2026 is teed up to close out with two of the biggest sci-fi movies of the year, as both Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three are set to release within days of each other in December 2026. Given both of these films are teed up to reach the $1 billion mark if their releases go as intended, they certainly mark Project Hail Mary's biggest sci-fi competition in 2026, even if their debuts are months away.

That said, these two films are by no means the only interesting sci-fi movies we know are on the horizon for the year. Indeed, they're not even the only major sci-fi movies belonging to a pre-existing franchise, since The Mandalorian & Grogu and Supergirl are both sci-fi films that will be building on some of the biggest hits in the genre of all time, meaning their own chances look pretty solid to say the least.

Outside of this, Stephen Spielberg's return to the world of cinema with Disclosure Day is naturally a film with colossal potential, and the premises of fascinating sci-fi stories like The Dog Stars also could easily become major hits once audiences get a glimpse of what's in store for them.

Overall, 2026 is teed up to be a truly big year for sci-fi, which should make it all the more exciting to see the trajectory Project Hail Mary follows with its box office gross, and how the later sci-fi releases of the year match up compared to the film's initial immense results.