'Project Hail Mary:' The next sci-fi masterpiece?

photo by Joe Iredale In Project Hail Mary, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller craft a captivating journey through deep space, starring Ryan Gosling as the main character.

Film is an invitation to feel. Audiences can escape the chaos of life and remind themselves what it feels like to believe in something, to wonder. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller delivered an experience that captivates viewers with the beauty of life in the cinematic blockbuster, “Project Hail Mary,” based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir. 

The film hit theaters March 20, and the box office numbers surpassed all expectations. 

The space epic opened to $141 million at the global box office opening weekend, being the largest opening of 2026 so far and Amazon MGM Studios’ largest opening weekend in company history, according to Deadline Box Office News. 

“Project Hail Mary” follows middle school science teacher turned astronaut, Ryland Grace, who awakens aboard a spacecraft 12 light-years away from Earth. His memory is fogged due to a medically induced coma, and worse, he’s all alone. As Grace pieces his memories back together, he teams up with an extraterrestrial friend named Rocky to save the sun from a mysterious, energy-extracting organism.  

“It was a true adaptation to the book,” junior Henry Singleton said. “I felt like they respected the original source material but changed a few things to make it overall more enjoyable on the screen.” 

Early screenings for “Project Hail Mary” skyrocketed its pre-release popularity, as it reached a Rotten Tomato Critic Score of 95%, and an Audience Score just beating it at 96%. Early reviews described it as a “cosmic cinematic phenomenon” and compared it to sci-fi epics like “Interstellar” and “The Martian.” 

“I was impressed, I could see the comparison to Interstellar for sure,” health teacher Mrs. Lucia Singleton said. “
I feel like emotionally it's somewhat similar. Both of them were pretty epic, had the right amount of drama, were really beautiful and had a lot of quiet space with less dialogue in a good turn out.” 

Many fans of the 2021 book questioned if it could adapt well to screen, especially if movie star Ryan Gosling would deliver a captivating performance as Ryland Grace. 

“I feel like Ryan Gosling is the perfect casting; just character wise he was a good match for Ryland,” Henry Singleton said. “I feel like they're kind of one and the same. I would say that Sandra Hüller was really good [as Eva Stratt]. I think the acting was great, and they did a really good job with Rocky.” 

As much as Gosling’s performance swept away audiences, so did the charm of his crab-like Eredian friend, Rocky. He was not treated as an alien sidekick to Grace, but a fleshed-out character with genuine emotions. 

“I loved how they made Rocky,” Mrs. Singleton said. “I think that they did a really great job with that, and it was fun to see all of his movements and to hear the song. It was cool to actually hear him making the sounds. They did a really good job with [Grace and Rocky’s] relationship and made you feel the emotion of just having another life form when they were all alone.” 

From unlikely friendships between an astronaut and a rock and the beautiful cinematography of Greig Fraser, “Project Hail Mary” reminds us why we go to the movies in the first place.

“I think it added so much that they didn't make everything in post-production,” senior Arden Battaglia said. “It really just added a level of depth that I feel like you don't see in most movies these days.” 

The film conveys a sense of wonder and optimism that is truly infectious, reminding viewers of the beauty and hope that great storytelling can provide. 

“I think a lot of people kind of expect it to be like 3.8 out of 5 [stars], but this one definitely exceeded that,” Henry Singleton said.