‘Project Hail Mary’ adds to a winning streak for originality at the movies - AP News

Franchise movies have been the dominant currency in Hollywood for years, but, lately, the upside of originality has been hard to miss. A week after “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” and “KPop Demon Hunters” triumphed at the Academy Awards, “Project Hail Mary” notched the biggest non-franchise opening weekend since “Oppenheimer.” In the first three months of 2026, the two biggest hits are it and the Pixar original “Hoppers.” None of these successes didn't come at some expense. “Project Hail Mary,” based on the Andy Weir bestseller, cost close to $200 million to make. But its $80.5 millio...

‘Project Hail Mary’ adds to a winning streak for originality at the movies

Ryan Gosling attends the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at Lincoln Center Plaza on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Phil Lord, left, and Chris Miller pose for a portrait to promote “Project Hail Mary” on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

This image released by Amazon MGM Studios shows Ryan Gosling in a scene from “Project Hail Mary.” (Jonathan Olley/Amazon MGM Studios via AP)

Paul Thomas Anderson, winner of the awards for writing (adapted screenplay), directing, and best picture for “One Battle After Another,” attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Michael B. Jordan, left, winner of the award for actor in a leading role for “Sinners,” and Ryan Coogler, winner of the award for writing (original screenplay) for “Sinners,” pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Franchise movies have been the dominant currency in Hollywood for years, but, lately, the upside of originality has been hard to miss.

A week after “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” and “KPop Demon Hunters” all triumphed at the Academy Awards, Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s “Project Hail Mary” notched the biggest non-franchise opening weekend since “Oppenheimer.” In the first three months of 2026, the two biggest hits in theaters are it and the Pixar original “Hoppers.”

All of these successes came at considerable expense. “Project Hail Mary,” based on the Andy Weir bestseller, cost close to $200 million to make. But its $80.5 million debut vindicated Amazon MGM’s big bet, and gave the studio its largest box-office hit yet.

“They made a tremendous investment and it’s going to pay off,” Lord said in an interview alongside Miller last week. “How exciting to reward the people that took a shot.”

“Project Hail Mary,” despite its title, isn’t anyone’s idea of a long shot. It stars one of the most widely liked actors in Ryan Gosling. Its source material, Weir’s novel, is beloved. And it trades on much of the same science-first sci-fi appeal of 2015’s best picture-nominated “The Martian,” from an earlier book by Weir. Lord and Miller, the filmmakers of the “Spider-Verse” movies and “The Lego Movie,” have a long track record of success with both audiences and critics.

But the recent run for originality — at the Oscars and the multiplex — suggests audiences may be more eager for something different from the same old. At the least, the potentially cascading rewards of an original hit are freshly apparent at a time when a lot of big bets — like the $130 million-plus that Paul Thomas Anderson’s best picture winner “One Battle After Another” cost Warner Bros. to make — have paid off so massively.

This article is republished through the USVI News affiliate desk. Reporting, analysis, and viewpoints are those of the original publisher and do not necessarily reflect USVI News.