Project Hail Mary Had An Awesome Second Weekend At The Box Office And Crossed Another Big Milestone

Looking at the box office results from last week, it was immediately clear that Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Project Hail Mary wouldn't be a "one and done" performer. Based on a popular, award-winning book by author Andy Weir and featuring some big name talent (Ryan Gosling obviously being the biggest name), the film successfully wowed critics, earned outstanding buzz, and set new records for 2026 during its debut weekend, and when that kind of magic is conjured, it doesn't lead to being labeled "front-loaded."

Lo and behold, the second weekend box office results are now in, and Project Hail Mary just had another excellent weekend… albeit partially because the new competition, principally Kirill Sokolov's horror action comedy They Will Kill You, didn't put up much of a fight. Check out the full Top 10 in the chart below and join me after for analysis.

Project Hail Mary Posts The Best Second Weekend Performance For A Number One Movie In 2026

A couple weeks ago, Daniel Chong's Hoppers pulled off an impressive box office feat: after earning $45.3 million in its opening weekend (the best debut for an original Pixar title since 2017), the film successfully kept putting butts in seats seven days later, seeing its ticket sales drop just 37 percent and adding $28.7 million to its domestic total.

That was awesome to see, but now, Project Hail Mary has bested that success.

The sci-fi blockbuster set a new high bar for 2026 domestically when it made $80.5 million in its first three days, and seven days later, that number has dropped just 32 percent (per The Numbers). The movie had an impressive $54.5 million in the last three days, further establishing the film as one of the first true hits of the year. To date, Project Hail Mary has made $164.3 million, making it easily the highest earner in the United States and Canada from the first three months of the year – it having now made more than other big titles like the aforementioned Hoppers ($138.6 million), Kevin Williamson's Scream 7 ($118.7 million) and Tyree Dillihay's GOAT ($100.9 million).

Project Hail Mary is also on pace to do far better at the box office than Ridley Scott's The Martian – the previous Andy Weir adaptation. The 2015 movie actually had a matching weekend-to-weekend drop in the aftermath of its debut, but the big difference is that the 2026 movie made more in its second Friday-to-Sunday than its predecessor made in its first. That's an exciting development when one considers that The Martian was a huge hit that finished its run domestically earning $228.4 million with a $108 million budget.

The second Weir adaptation was far more expensive to make (Puck reports a $200 million cost), but one also can't forget international distribution. Per THR, that awesome $164.3 million total domestically is matched by $136.2 million earned overseas, which brings Project Hail Mary past a killer milestone: it has now made over $300 million worldwide. The Martian finished its theatrical run around the globe earning $653.6 million, and it will be fascinating to see if the Ryan Gosling led-title can ultimately match and/or beat that figure.

Of course, there is one significant problem standing in the movie's way. While the new sci-fi title didn't have any true competition this weekend (more on that in a moment), that most definitely won't be the case as the calendar flips over to April and the world experiences the theatrical release of Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – which is expected to be looked back upon as one of the biggest box office hits of 2026 after The Super Mario Bros. Movie made $1.4 billion globally back in 2023. The two titles are notably targeting two different core demographics; is there enough market for both to find success as we get into the new month? That will be one of the most fascinating box office storylines to track in the coming weeks.

They Will Kill You Has A Super Disappointing Opening Weekend, Debuts In Third Place With A Seven-Figure Take

Let's start with the silver lining, shall we? They Will Kill You was not an expensive movie to make. According to Deadline, the bloody romp starring Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette only cost $20 million to make (not counting publicity and marketing costs). In retrospect, it's a good thing that the price was kept to a minimal, as it failed to inspire much excitement at the box office in its debut.

The film got what could be called a mixed-positive response from critics, with many noting impressive work from Beetz as the lead, but that talk did not turn into word-of-mouth that got people interested in purchasing a ticket. Making only $5 million in its first three days on the big screen, They Will Kill You had to settle for third place behind both Project Hail Mary and Hoppers (which is now in its fourth week of release and still going strong with a $12.2 million take).

It's the second rough performance for "fun horror" we've seen in the last week. Seven days ago, I noted that Searchlight Pictures made a significant mistake trying to have Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet's Ready or Not 2: Here I Come face off against Project Hail Mary, as the former got its clock cleaned and made just $9.1 million in its first three days. Perhaps it would have been brighter for studios to save these titles for spooky season?

The future certainly doesn't look bright for They Will Kill You, but April should get off to a fascinating start with the arrival of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and it will be exciting to see how Project Hail Mary ends up competing. Be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to see how the Top 10 shakes out, and check out our 2026 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the titles that are on the way to cinemas and streaming in the coming weeks and months.