“Project Hail Mary” debuted with an estimated $80.5 million in ticket sales across North America, marking a record opening for Amazon MGM and signaling strong demand for original science fiction films. The PG-13 film played on 4,007 screens and drew roughly 5 million viewers, according to box office tracker EntTelligence.

The opening surpasses Amazon MGM’s previous best, “Creed III” ($58 million in 2023), and is now the second-highest debut for a non-franchise release in recent years, trailing only “Oppenheimer,” which opened to $82.4 million in 2023. In the past decade, only three non-franchise films have opened above $70 million, including Jordan Peele’s “Us.” Among modern space-themed films, “Project Hail Mary” exceeded the debuts of “The Martian” ($54.3 million), “Gravity” ($55.6 million), and “Interstellar” ($47.5 million).

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the film reportedly cost around $200 million to produce, double the budget of “Oppenheimer.” Audience reception has been strong, with PostTrak exit polls giving the film five out of five stars and 83 percent of viewers saying they would “definitely recommend” it. The audience skewed slightly male (57%) and largely under 35 (55%).

The story follows Ryan Gosling’s character, who awakens alone aboard a spaceship with limited memory and a mission to save the sun from dying. Premium large-format screenings, including IMAX, drove much of the revenue, with 56 percent of the weekend gross coming from such formats, including 24 percent from IMAX alone.

Other new releases fared more modestly. Searchlight’s “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” opened to $9.1 million, while Disney-Pixar’s “Hoppers” earned $18 million and Bollywood sequel “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” brought in $9.6 million. Universal’s “Reminders of Him” earned $8 million in its second weekend. Additionally, Viva Pictures released an animated adaptation of “The Pout-Pout Fish” in 1,854 theaters, expected to enter the top 10.