AceShowbiz - Project Hail Mary has defied expectations by not only surviving but thriving at the global box office, even in the face of strong competition from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Now in its third weekend of theatrical release, the sci-fi adventure has crossed a major domestic milestone and is closing in on an even larger worldwide achievement.

The film stars Ryan Gosling and is adapted from a novel by Andy Weir, who is also known for writing the book behind The Martian. Upon release, Project Hail Mary received near-universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It also marks the directorial return of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who had not helmed a feature film in over ten years. The duo previously worked on Solo: A Star Wars Story before being replaced mid-production by Ron Howard.

This comeback could hardly have been more successful. Alongside their production work on the Spider-Verse movies, Project Hail Mary highlights Lord and Miller’s unique ability to create popular, mass-appeal hits. The film’s release strategy resembles that of last year’s F1 for Apple Studios, with a wide international theatrical rollout and a two-week exclusive window on IMAX screens.

Financially, Project Hail Mary has already doubled the box office earnings of the similarly budgeted Amazon MGM title Red One, which starred Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. This weekend, the film surpassed $200 million in domestic gross, overtaking the lifetime earnings of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Currently, it stands at $217 million domestically and is expected to soon eclipse the $228 million total of its spiritual predecessor The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon.

Internationally, Project Hail Mary has added another $193 million, bringing its worldwide total to approximately $390 million against a production budget of $200 million. This figure places the film ahead of the $385 million global gross of J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot. That reboot was critically acclaimed, holding a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to Project Hail Mary’s 95%, and led to two sequels.

Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, an astronaut tasked with saving Earth from an impending ice age by traveling to a distant galaxy. The film’s screenplay was co-written by Andy Weir and Drew Goddard and produced by a team including Aditya Sood, Amy Pascal, and the directors themselves.

The movie’s runtime is 157 minutes, and it carries a PG-13 rating. It blends elements of science fiction and adventure.