After years of anticipation and a production budget rivaling a NASA mission, the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” is blasting into theaters Friday.
The $200 million film is the latest big-budget adaptation of one of Weir’s novels and reunites the author with screenwriter Drew Goddard, who helped pen the script for “The Martian,” earning him an Oscar nomination.
Directed by the filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the latest film arrives with glowing reviews, currently sitting at a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. While it’s still early, preliminary reviews and box-office prediction numbers suggest the movie will wow audiences and secure a successful theatrical run.
Critics praise the film
“A visually dazzling space odyssey that’s carried along effortlessly by the gravitational pull of Ryan Gosling at his most winning, ‘Project Hail Mary’ is a near-miraculous fusion of smarts and heart,” reads the official critics consensus on the review-aggregation site.
Critics are already drawing comparisons to Weir’s previous cinematic hit, “The Martian.” A Boston.com critic noted that while director Ridley Scott’s film was a “drama with occasional moments of levity,” the most recent production is more “an intergalactic ‘The Odd Couple,’ or ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ on a cosmic scale.”
While some reviews offered minor critiques — Boston Movie News called it “a zero-gravity slog” at times — the overall consensus remains positive. Some have already pegged it as “the first great blockbuster of 2026.”
CBC News summarized the space drama’s appeal simply: “What you want from a movie: It’s smart, and it’s fun. What more could you ask for?”
The premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at Lincoln Center Plaza on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in New York. | Evan Agostini, Invision via the Associated Press
From page to screen, how does it compare?
For fans of the novel who are skeptical about its transition to the big screen, early reviews suggest the spirit of the book remains largely intact and there is nothing to worry about.
Project Hail Mary has everything from the book, plus one small addition that makes it better than the book.
It’s not like The Martian where something like the rover flipping over during the journey across Mars was cut from the adaptation.
Everything is there from the book and…
— Jeremy (@ManaByte) March 14, 2026
The New Yorker noted that “like the book, the film uses Grace’s temporary amnesia as a structuring device. We are jerked between past and present as his backstory gets filled in, one jogged memory at a time.”
Ok, first impressions of Project Hail Mary: There couldn’t be a better, more faithful visual re-telling of the book imaginable. It’s really quite beautiful and very moving when it’s supposed to be and hilarious and exciting all the other times. But the visuals! It leaps off the…
— Uncle Dynamite (@UncleDynamite) March 20, 2026
Another reviewer urged audiences to see it in theaters, while praising the way the film remained true to the novel. “It does the book justice and it should be watched on the biggest screen you can get yourself in front of asap. Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!”
You can read the full review here (note: contains strong language).
Box-office predictions
This is not the first of Weir‘s novels to launch a mission to the big screen. “The Martian,” starring Matt Damon, made its debut in theaters in 2015 and earned just over $54 million in its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.
With a production budget of $200 million, “Project Hail Mary” is projected to surpass its predecessor, with Variety reporting expected opening weekend earnings to land in the $63 million to $65 million range.
What is ‘Project Hail Mary’ about?
The film stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home and with no memory of who he is, let alone how he got there. As his memory returns, he realizes he is on a mission to save humanity. While he works to save Earth, he finds an unexpected friend to help him along the way, according to IMDb.
Ryan Gosling attends the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at Lincoln Center Plaza on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in New York. | Evan Agostini, Invision via the Associated Press
