Projections were looking at a $65 to $67 million opening weekend for Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Project Hail Mary. It blew through that with a tiny Sunday drop of just under 18% to now be looking at an $81 million domestic opening.
For context, that is so far ahead of the second-placed movie (Hoppers – $18 million) and, combined with $80 million overseas, is the best opening of the year so far, the biggest opening for an Amazon MGM Studios feature, and the second-best domestic start for a non-franchise/sequel behind Oppenheimer.
Third place at the box office goes to a four-hour-long Bollywood production – Dhurandhar: The Revenge – with just over $9.6 million. That will have sold ten times more tickets than the rest of the top ten combined overseas, but price differentials will be at play.
Horror comedy Ready or Not 2: Here I Come will be fourth with $9.1 million domestic. Ready or Not 2 seems primed for a streaming release and to find legs there, as it is not getting people out to theaters, especially vs. Project Hail Mary.
The top five is rounded out by Reminders of Him, with $8 million.
The landscape is pretty barren in the next few weeks, with a re-release of The Mummy Returns on the slate before The Drama and Super Mario Galaxy hit in April, then The Devil Wears Prada 2 lands in early May. Super Mario Galaxy has the potential to be another box office monster.
