Project Hail Mary(2026)

PG-13
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material and suggestive references.
2h 36m

Release Date: Mar 20, 2026 | Wide

A science teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing Earth's sun, and realizes that an unexpected friendship may be the key.

Releases

Original Release | Mar 20, 2026

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Box Office Results

Updated as of Jun 12, 2026 11:20 AM ET

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$80,506,007
Total US & Canada:
$343,543,494
Total International
$336,808,148
Total Worldwide:
$680,351,642

Current Showtimes

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Phil Lord
Director

Christopher Miller
Director

Ryan Gosling
Ryland Grace

Sandra Hüller
Eva Stratt

James Ortiz
Rocky

Lionel Boyce
Carl

Milana Vayntrub

Olesya Ilyukhina

Ken Leung

Yao

Priya Kansara

Mary

Mia Soteriou

Dr. Browne

Annelle Olaleye

Olivia

Maya Eva Hosein

Rekha

Bastian Antonio Fuentes

Parker

Alice Brittain

Hardware Store Cashier

Michael Akinsulire

Air Force Officer

Travis Jay

Tilt-a-Whirl

Geoffrey Lumb

Aircraft Carrier Officer

Paul Lambert

Dr. Scyther

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos,IMAX 6-Track,Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.00 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Ryland Grace awakens from an induced coma on an interstellar spacecraft. Initially erratic with retrograde amnesia, Grace discovers that he is the sole survivor of the three-person crew on board, and that he is light-years away from Earth in a distant solar system.Grace slowly remembers that he is an American middle-school science teacher and former molecular biologist. In the past, scientists observe the Sun dimming, and the formation of an infrared line from the Sun to Venus called the Petrova line. The dimming, caused by a microorganism known as an astrophage (Greek for "star-eater") exponentially increasing its population on the Sun's surface, will result in a catastrophic global cooling of the Earth within 30 years. Government agent Eva Stratt recruits Grace and other scientists around the world to study the astrophages.Grace discovers that an astrophage is a single-celled organism impenetrable to any form of electromagnetic radiation, and that it breeds on Venus through the planet's carbon dioxide and energy from the Sun. Astrophages have infected other stars within Earth's solar neighborhood, and researchers also find them to be a very effective-if-volatile fuel source. Stratt discloses Project Hail Mary, an international effort to send a crew on a suicide mission to Tau Ceti, the only undimmed nearby star. The Hail Mary spacecraft only has enough astrophages as fuel for a one-way trip, but will carry probes to send the crew's findings back to Earth.In the present, as Grace approaches Tau Ceti, he sees an alien spacecraft. The spacecraft, which docks with Hail Mary, is made of a substance Grace calls "xenonite" (solid xenon). The pilot of the other ship is a rock-like, five-legged alien from 40 Eridani, whom Grace names "Rocky".Grace deduces that Eridians see via echolocation and creates a machine translation system for Rocky's musical speech. Rocky explains that he is a mechanic and also the sole survivor of a mission to stop the astrophage. Neither can survive in the other's atmosphere, so Rocky enters Hail Mary using a small, pressurized ball as a spacesuit.In the past, Grace meets Hail Mary's commander, engineer, and scientist, and their backups. While handling some astrophages, an accident kills the scientist and the backup crew three days before launch. With no time to train a replacement, Stratt asks Grace to take the place of the deceased scientists. When Grace refuses, Stratt has him drugged and forcibly put on Hail Mary.Following Tau Ceti's Petrova line, Grace and Rocky find that the planet Tau Ceti e - which they name "Adrian" after Rocky's mate - harbors an organism that preys on astrophages, controlling their population. After learning that Grace cannot return home, Rocky offers enough astrophages to refuel Hail Mary. While gathering the organism from the upper atmosphere of Adrian, a fuel leak causes an uncontrollable spin that renders Grace unconscious. Rocky breaks his spacesuit and saves Grace, but is severely injured. While Rocky recovers in hibernation, Grace finds a way to breed the astrophage-consuming organism, which he names "taumoeba". Rocky revives, and he and Grace part as friends to their home planets.During the trip to Earth, Grace discovers that the taumoebae have evolved the ability to pass through their xenonite containers and are eating Hail Mary's astrophage fuel. Grace fixes the problem on his ship but realizes that Rocky's entire ship is made of xenonite, allowing the taumoebae to consume all of his fuel. Left with the choice of returning to Earth or saving Rocky and his homeworld, Grace chooses the latter, sending the taumoebae and his research to Earth via the probes.The probes deliver to Stratt what humanity needs to kill the astrophages. The Eridians create a biodome on their planet for Grace to live in. Rocky tells him that Eridian scientists have finished preparing Hail Mary to return to Earth. While contemplating the news, Grace begins another day of teaching science to Eridian children.

Storyline

Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction... but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone. — Amazon MGM Studios Twelve light-years away from home, Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher with a penchant for going against the grain, wakes up from an induced coma. His body is weak, his memory is foggy, and he is in for a rude awakening: the bright dot on the star chart is not our sun. All alone on an eerily silent interstellar ship, Grace must piece together his fragmented memories to explain how he ended up in space and became entangled in a desperate, one-way mission to save humankind. It is a long shot; however, with our stars and sun dying, attempting the impossible is better than surrendering to extinction. In the endless void, the concepts of duty, selflessness, and mortality take on an entirely different, more profound meaning. But can Ryland believe in himself and the ambitious Project Hail Mary? — Nick Riganas

Movie Review

Project Hail Mary

This save-the-Earth saga satisfies at a surface level, thanks mostly to Ryan Gosling’s universe-spanning charm.

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Fun Facts

Project Hail Mary (2026) adapts Andy Weir's bestselling sci-fi novel, with Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a science teacher-turned-astronaut who awakens alone on a spaceship with amnesia, tasked to reverse a solar dimming catastrophe threatening Earth's extinction.