Amazon MGM Studios' Project Hail Mary is projecting a $71.1 million US opening weekend, the best of 2026 and a record for the studio. The sci-fi film, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, earned $12 million in previews and strong audience scores. Puppeteer James Ortiz brought the alien Rocky to life using practical effects during the six-month London shoot.
Project Hail Mary, based on Andy Weir’s 2021 novel, launched with $12 million in previews, marking the second-best for a non-sequel, non-franchise film after It’s $13.5 million in 2017. The movie is on track for $71.1 million over the weekend across 4,007 theaters, surpassing Creed III’s $58.3 million Amazon MGM record and tying Us’s $71.1 million as the fourth-best non-franchise opening. PostTrak exits showed 5 stars, 95% positive score, and 85% definite recommend, with 61% male and 59% aged 18-34 audiences; 56% had bought tickets in advance. Social media buzz from a 520.8 million universe praised it as better than The Martian and recent Star Trek films, with book fans highlighting its brains, heart, and theatrical appeal. Ryan Gosling interacts with the alien Rocky, a spider-like creature speaking in whale songs, for over half the film using a practical puppet operated by James Ortiz, a Broadway veteran from shows like The Skin of Their Teeth and Into the Woods. Ortiz was on set nearly the entire six-month London production, as directors Lord and Miller favored practical effects. “Actor to actor, I didn’t want Ryan to ever feel like he was alone in this,” Ortiz said. They rehearsed scenes eye-to-eye before adding the puppet. Designer Neil Scanlan, from Jim Henson’s shop and Star Wars, built Rocky and told Ortiz, “I’m going to treat this like you’re Frank Oz, and my job is to build Yoda for you.” Sets were elevated four to five feet for puppeteers, with animatronics and Framestore CGI for complex shots like Rocky rolling. Ortiz provided Rocky’s voice from a booth, reciting lines with a rough, duct-taped computer sound mixing Mr. Moviefone and Siri tones; directors retained his tracks. “What I loved about the process was at no point did Phil or Chris or anybody on the team ever treat me like I was a technician,” Ortiz said. Gosling gifted Ortiz a Batman Forever crew sweatshirt.
