E
Erik Childress
Guest
ROCK-Y! ROCK-Y! ROCK-Y! Or is it GOS-LING! GOS-LING! GOS-LING! Whatever audiences are shouting, they are certainly using their words to get others into the theaters for Project Hail Mary. A small drop this weekend and a second week at the top of the box office has the film outpacing another big science-fiction adaptation, at least on the domestic side.
King of the Crop: Project Hail Mary Continues to Soar
While based on a popular book, we can’t resist beaming over an “original” film with no number or IP brand attached to it doing very well with audiences right now. It may relinquish the top spot to one of those very IPs next week, but Project Hail Mary is cruising right now with another $54.5 million. With just a 32% drop from last week, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel became the top-grossing domestic release of the year in nine days with $164.3 million when it passed Hoppers on Saturday.
Hail Mary’s second weekend dwarfed Dune: Part Two’s $46.2 million, and with it being over $7 million ahead of that sci-fi adaptation’s pace, this one could make a play to reach $300 million on the domestic front. Now here’s a fun little stat: There have been 160 films to gross over $250 million in North America; only 12 of those films failed to gross at least $225 million outside of the region, and just seven of those have happened since 2009. Interestingly enough, Lord & Miller’s The Lego Movie happens to be one of them. Last year’s Sinners was another. Unless Hail Mary is impacted more by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a $225 million international gross should be plenty for this to reach half a billion across the globe. Mario might beat it, but it’s always nice to have a pair hit that milestone before the summer season kicks off. Hail Mary is currently at $136 million on the international side.
Tales of the top 10: Hoppers Cruises Along, They Will Kill You Debuts in Third
Disney/Pixar’s Hoppers has remained in the top two going on four straight weeks now. Another $12.2 million this weekend puts the film at $138.5 million. The good news is the film is not far off trailing The Croods right now, which had a $13.1 million fourth weekend and a 24-day total of $142.4 million. The bad news is this is the final weekend before families start heading to the Mario Galaxy. If the drop isn’t too stiff, Hoppers could still forge itself a path over $180 million. Otherwise it should rest somewhere in the 170s. Worldwide the film is getting close to $300 million with $297.6 million, and it would be the first Hollywood release of the year to hit that number unless Project Hail Mary accelerates and beats Hoppers to it. Internationally it would like to find another $90 million and hit the next notch on the global milestone chart.
Last week a sequel was released about a woman running around a house populated by rich people who worship the devil trying to kill her. This week, we got They Will Kill You, a film about a woman running around a hotel populated by rich people who worship the devil trying to kill her. In the former film, bodies explode when they fail. In this one the mutilated bodies reform themselves over and over. Sounds like a metaphor. Regardless, They Will Kill You opened to $5 million after the $9 million that Ready or Not 2 opened to last week. After its premiere at SXSW, those who posted their reviews saw them average a 79% on the Tomatometer. After press screenings this week, the film is at 66%. Expect the film to end up somewhere between just $10-15 million.
Last December, Dhurandhar became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films ever in North America, tallying $19.7 million. The 230-minute sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, had the highest opening ever for a Bollywood film last week, and now, just under four months after the first film opened, it has bested not just the original’s total but also Baahubali 2 ($20.6 million) for the top Bollywood film ever. An additional $4.7 million this weekend gives it $22.7 million. Among films to be released since 1984 to clock in at over 200 minutes, only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($377.0 million), Killers of the Flower Moon ($68.0 million), and Malcolm X ($48.1 million) have grossed more.
In its third weekend, Reminders of Him got itself over $40 million thanks to another $4.7 million provided to it by Colleen Hoover fans. Well, some of them, at least. Stephen King fans didn’t do much more for Secret Window back in 2004, as it is one of the only two March releases to not reach $50 million after making $40 million in 17 days. Last year’s Mickey 17 was the other. Though Reminders of Him is looking to be closer to $50 million than $60 million when it leaves theaters, the $25 million-budgeted film is going to make over $75 million globally (it is currently at $69 million) and declare another victory for the Hoover brand.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come fell to sixth place this weekend, and it is already starting to fall off the pace of the first film. Another $4 million in its second frame and $16.2 million in 10 days compared to a $5.9 second weekend and just over $16 million for the late summer original is not great news for the reported $14 million-budgeted sequel. Critics were a little less enthused with the sequel, registering a 75% on the Tomatometer, down from an 89% for the first film, and audiences may not be as impressed or interested either. The fanbase certainly did not grow in the seven years since its release. Radio Silence is moving on to create the fourth Mummy film with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz next. Incidentally, The Mummy Returns was in 1,430 theaters this weekend for its 25th anniversary, and it grossed $600,000.
Scream 7 was the top-grossing film of the year until last weekend. Now it’s the third-highest grossing film of the year, as it adds $2.6 million to its now $118.6 million domestic total. It also crossed the $200 million line globally and is just the eighth live-action narrative with a budget under $50 million to hit that total since the pandemic. The Housemaid and Weapons did it in 2025.
Sony’s animated GOAT crossed a milestone this weekend as $2.2 million was enough to get it to nine-digit territory with $100.8 million. That’s the fourth $100 million film of 2026. Last year, only Captain America: Brave New World had hit that milestone by the end of March. Undertone is going to clock out after a three-week run in the top 10, making $1.6 million this week and bringing its total over $18 million. It’s one of the highest-grossing films for an sub-$1 million budget film since 1999.
IFC’s release of Forbidden Fruits is just their eighth film to open in over 1,000 theaters and their third largest release at 1,525 theaters after last year’s Good Boy (1,650) and Dangerous Animals (1,636). Those films opened to $2.34 million and $1.56 million, respectively. Fruits opened to $1.17 million, making it IFC’s fifth-best opening on a list that also includes Late Night with the Devil ($2.83 million) and In a Violent Nature ($2.15 million). Until 2024 they had never opened a film in over 1,000 theaters or opened a film to a million dollars.
Beyond the Top 10: The AI Doc Leads a Host of Indies and Re-Releases
In limited release news, Focus opened The AI Doc into 786 theaters and it grossed $650,000. Neon’s release of Julia Ducournau’s Alpha made $121,033 in 218 theaters. Sofia Coppola’s documentary, Marc By Sofia, was in 128 theaters, and the A24 release grossed $100,000.
Amanda Peet has made some headlines recently with her emotional essay regarding her parents’ deaths and her cancer diagnosis. She is also starring in Fantasy Life, Matthew Shear’s comedy-drama that debuted at SXSW last year and was also chosen for the Chicago Critics Film Festival (which I produce). Greenwich’s release in just a single screen at the Angelika in New York grossed $39,000. It opens a little wider across the country next week.
At the beginning of his directorial career, the late Rob Reiner went from This Is Spinal Tap to The Sure Thing to Stand By Me. Three straight years. Now the adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, one which the author considered “the best film ever made out of anything” he had written, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a one-week re-release. It grossed $450,000 in 624 theaters.
On the Vine: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Looks to Boost a Strong Pre-Summer Movie Season
It may not be the summer season yet, but it will do until it gets here. The box office gets another April boost as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie debuts this Wednesday. The Super Mario Bros. Movie became the 14th-highest grossing film of all time momentarily in 2023. It is currently 17th. Will Galaxy match or surpass the $204.6 million that the first film made in its first five days? Also, A24 will release Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in the mysterious marriage fallout film The Drama, from the director of Dream Scenario.
Full List of Box Office Results: March 27-29, 2026
- Project Hail Mary – $54.5 million ($164.3 million total)
- Hoppers – $12.2 million ($138.5 million total)
- They Will Kill You – $5.0 million ($5.0 million total)
- Dhurandhar: The Revenge – $4.7 million ($22.8 million total)
- Reminders of Him – $4.7 million ($41.0 million total)
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – $4.0 million ($16.2 million total)
- Scream 7 – $2.6 million ($118.6 million total)
- GOAT – $2.2 million ($100.8 million total)
- Undertone – $1.6 million ($18.4 million total)
- Forbidden Fruits – $1.1 million ($1.1 million total)
Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast. [box office figures via Box Office Mojo]
Thumbnail image by ©Amazon MGM Studios
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