New Sci-Fi Masterpiece Overtakes J.J. Abrams’ Bold Franchise-Starter at the Box Office

Despite facing an existential threat in the form ofThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Project Hail Mary not only survived, but thrived at the box office. In its third weekend of release in theaters worldwide, the sci-fi epic passed a major milestone domestically and neared an even bigger one worldwide. The movie has exceeded expectations on every occasion so far and is poised to become star Ryan Gosling's top-grossing hit. Based on a novel by Andy Weir, who also wrote the book that inspired The Martian, Project Hail Mary opened to near-unanimous praise from critics and audiences. The movie marks the directorial comeback of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who hadn't directed a film in over a decade. They were, however, hard at work on Solo: A Star Wars Story before being replaced midway through production by Ron Howard.