Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary Blasts Off to No. 1 With 2026’s Biggest Opening Weekend

Alright, the latest weekend box office numbers are in, and if you like tracking movie mayhem, this past weekend (March 20–22) actually delivered some real action. The big story? Ryan Gosling just launched Project Hail Mary, and—no surprise if you’ve been watching the hype—it pretty much steamrolled the competition with a debut that’s already setting some pretty high bars for 2026.

Project Hail Mary Leaves Everyone Else in the Dust

Let’s talk numbers: Gosling’s latest sci-fi entry opened to a whopping $80.5 million domestically. That’s not just good, it’s the biggest opening weekend anyone’s managed this year—easily beating out Scream 7, which held the title for about five seconds with a $63.6 million debut. Factor in overseas audiences, and the global total is just shy of $141 million. Not bad for a movie that’s only just launched, and yes, it’s an adaptation with a fanbase basically built in.

Just for context, Project Hail Mary already cracked the ninth spot for the highest worldwide box office take of 2026, and some folks are calling it one of the year’s best new crowd-pleasers.

Everyone Else: Kids’ Flicks, Sequels, and Yet More Horror

Here’s a quick snapshot of the rest of the top 10—and honestly, it’s a pretty wild mix of animation, sequels, and big-name franchises. I’ll break it down for you:

• 2. Hoppers: Disney and Pixar’s 30th film (!) is still hopping along after last weekend’s $50 million launch. This weekend it dropped to $18 million domestically (yeah, a 60% drop, but Pixar’s used to long legs), and thanks to global ticket sales, it’s already the #2 movie worldwide for the year—only Pegasus 3 (out of China) is ahead so far.
• 3. Dhurandhar: The Revenge: An international release clocks in with $9.6 million domestically and $13.5 million worldwide—not a huge number, but solid for a title that most U.S. audiences hadn’t even heard of two weeks ago.
• 4. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come: Horror sequels just won’t quit. This one earned $9.1 million domestically, $11.9 million globally, on a debut weekend that horror fans were apparently waiting for.
• 5. Reminders of Him: Some actual, original drama for once, pulling in $8 million domestic and a pretty impressive $54 million worldwide total—this one’s been sticking around for a couple of weeks.
• 6. Scream 7: Still hanging on with $4.3 million domestic. The total worldwide haul is $193.8 million, boosted by all that early franchise excitement.
• 7. GOAT: Yes, the animated sports flick featuring NBA legend Stephen Curry and Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin. It’s racked up $3.5 million for the week and now sits at $174.5 million globally.
• 8. Undertone: $3 million this week, $15.2 million total, and keeping a small but steady presence.
• 9. Wuthering Heights: This adaptation is definitely a box office oddity—$475k domestic, but a $234.4 million worldwide total. (File that under 'movies that play way better outside the U.S. than in it.')
• 10. Avatar: Fire & Ash: James Cameron’s latest is still somehow making money 14 weeks after it opened. $280,000 this week, but more importantly, the global take is now $1.49 billion. It’s still #16 all-time world box office, which is just above Frozen 2 and just below Top Gun: Maverick if you like chart placement trivia.

Box Office Top 10 Snapshot — March 20–22

(All domestic totals are just for this most recent weekend. Global is up-to-date as of now. Weeks in theaters noted.)

 1. Project Hail Mary ($80.58M domestic, $140.98M global, Week 1) 2. Hoppers ($18M, $242.59M, Week 3) 3. Dhurandhar: The Revenge ($9.57M, $13.51M, Week 1) 4. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come ($9.1M, $11.9M, Week 1) 5. Reminders of Him ($8M, $54M, Week 2) 6. Scream 7 ($4.3M, $193.83M, Week 4) 7. GOAT ($3.5M, $174.51M, Week 6) 8. Undertone ($3.02M, $15.21M, Week 2) 9. Wuthering Heights ($0.48M, $234.4M, Week 6) 10. Avatar: Fire & Ash ($0.28M, $1.49B, Week 14) 

What’s Next: Wild Horror Incoming

If you want to look ahead, next weekend Warner Bros. unleashes They Will Kill You. This one probably won’t be a dominant box office performer (horror rarely is, at least without huge buzz), but it’s grabbing eyeballs for its bonkers premise and an oddball cast: Zazie Beetz, Tom Felton, and Heather Graham (yes, that’s a lot of different genres colliding in one squad). And with Kirill Sokolov directing, at least there’s a chance of something genuinely weird—so maybe keep an eye on that one just for the spectacle.

'At this point, it might be fair to call the box office race in 2026 unpredictable—and frankly, a little more fun than usual.'

The bottom line: Project Hail Mary is the year’s first real sensation, Pixar remains Pixar (even when they stumble), and James Cameron’s blue people are basically the movie version of background radiation—always present, never not earning cash. More as it comes in.