Released in the United States on Friday, March 20, by Amazon MGM Studios, “Project Hail Mary” amazed audiences who began anticipating its distribution since marketing began on June 30, 2025. Since its release, the film has grossed $330.4 million on a budget of $200 million. Although “Project Hail Mary” must gross around $500 million to break even according to industry standards, audiences have faith in the box office success of the film, which was adapted from “Project Hail Mary” (2021) by Andy Weir, an American novelist whose 2011 novel “The Martian” was adapted into a seven time Oscar-nominated film in 2015. “Project Hail Mary” was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, a directing duo known for “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “The Lego Movie,” and the Spiderverse franchise.
In “Project Hail Mary,” our protagonist Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a junior high school teacher and former molecular biologist, is recruited by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) to study a sample of “astrophage.” Astrophages are single-celled organisms that formed the Petrova line, an infrared line from the Sun to Venus, and are responsible for dimming the Sun. Although astrophages have infected the suns of nearby solar systems, the star Tau Ceti is unaffected despite also featuring a Petrova line. During Grace’s expedition, he encounters Rocky (James Ortiz), a five-legged alien from Erid, who he befriends during their collaboration to save their home planets.
The visuals of “Project Hail Mary” are definitely Oscar-nomination worthy. Lord and Miller utilized infrared lights to film the climax of “Project Hail Mary,” where Grace and Rocky collect astrophage from the atmosphere of “Adrian,” a planet in Tau Ceti’s solar system linked to the Petrova line and named after Rocky’s mate. The contrast between Adrian’s chartreuse green atmosphere and the astrophages’ sparkling blood red left audiences in awe as “Time Go Fishing” played in the background. One of the most memorable aspects of “Project Hail Mary” is the original soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton, an English composer and songwriter who developed the soundtracks for the Spiderverse franchises. Audiences compared the visual and auditory excellence of “Project Hail Mary” to Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar.” Furthermore, the production “Project Hail Mary” emphasized the use of practical effects over green screens. Rocky was not CGI animated, but actually puppeted by six puppeteers, including the voice actor and lead puppeteer James Ortiz.
Fans of Andy Weir were critical of the differences between the film and novel. Significant scenes were cut, such as the nuclear strike on Antarctica that released trapped methane gas to reduce the cooling of the Earth, while other scenes such as Grace’s desperate search for Rocky were reduced to conserve “Project Hail Mary’s” runtime of 2 hours and 37 minutes. Furthermore, Lord and Miller humanized Stratt’s character in the film adaptation to emphasize her vulnerability as an antagonist, such as through her rendition of Harry Style’s “Sign of the Times.” Another criticism involved the marketing of “Project Hail Mary,” as the introduction of Rocky was a plot twist in the novel that was spoiled for audiences of the film through trailers.
“Project Hail Mary” personally earns an outstanding 4.5 of 5 stars. Watching “Project Hail Mary” in theaters is an experience I would highly recommend for anyone interested as it is one of the few films that can provoke an audience to gasp and laugh in unison. Although “Project Hail Mary” has a longer runtime than recent films, it is definitely worth a watch for its immersive experience. Of course, due to the abundance of scenes that were cut from “Project Hail Mary,” reading Andy Weir’s novel of the same name may benefit the experience for some audiences. So, if you’re excited to see “Project Hail Mary” in theaters, be ready to be “Amaze! Amaze! Amazed!”
