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Prayers were heard this weekend, as Amazon MGM's Project Hail Mary generated the year's biggest ever debut, and Amazon's biggest ever debut at the box office. But that wasn't it all; Dhurandhar: The Revenge had a very strong debut and cracked the third spot. That left the other newcomer, Ready or Not 2, to only get to fourth place with a solid, but not exciting start.

The Top 10 earned a combined $137 million this weekend. That's up a colossal 103.8% from last year, when Snow White massively flopped after so many months of controversy.

Debuting at #1, Amazon MGM's Project Hail Mary earned a fantastic $80.5 million in 4,007 theaters. That's Amazon's biggest ever debut since they got into theatrical business, and it marks MGM's biggest debut since Skyfall ($88 million) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($84 million), both in fall 2012. It's also directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller's biggest debut, dethroning The LEGO Movie ($69 million).

The proper comparison to Project Hail Mary was The Martian, another sci-fi adaptation of a novel by Andy Weir. Releasing in 2015, it debuted with $54.3 million and closed with a fantastic $228.4 million, over $630 million worldwide. A debut in that vein was considered a possibility, so the fact that Project Hail Mary could earn that much is a very encouraging sign.

Credit has to go to Amazon MGM, for doing an excellent job in marketing. The "no marketing" excuse can't be used here; this film was everywhere for months. They knew they had a big film and made sure to reach the biggest possible audience, and that included a Super Bowl spot. All of which highlighted visuals, the most important part of a sci-fi title. Given the novel has already a built-in audience and it was well received, now it was just a matter of successfully translating that quality to the big screen.

After over a decade without a single directorial project, Phil Lord & Chris Miller returned to helm the blockbuster. While they have directed just four films, all four of them have been critical and commercial successes. And while they are not the directors, their presence in the Spider-Verse franchise has also raised their profile. While Ryan Gosling has had some box office duds, including The Fall Guy recently, he was strong enough to capture an audience to check the film as well. And finally, the film lived up to the hype: it's sitting at a fantastic 95% on RT.

According to Amazon MGM, 57% of the audience was male, and 55% was 35 and under. They gave it a great "A" on CinemaScore, the same score as The Martian. That film had incredible legs, and it's unlikely Project Hail Mary disappears quickly, especially now that there's awards buzz (the first big contender of the year). For now, a $240 million domestic total is likely for Project Hail Mary, and it could go higher. Given how Amazon has struggled with their properties in theaters, this is gonna be a big win for everyone involved.

After topping the box office for the past two weeks, Disney/Pixar's Hoppers went to second place. But it still dropped a light 38%, earning $17.8 million this weekend. The film has amassed $120.1 million, becoming the top grossing title of the year in America (although Hail Mary will overtake that title by next week). It's still set to finish its run with over $160 million domestically.

Making its way to third place, the Indian film Dhurandhar: The Revenge debuted with an impressive $10 million in 987 theaters. Counting its Thursday numbers, the film has already earned $14 million. This is the biggest ever debut for a Bollywood title, dethroning 2023’s Pathaan ($6.9M). Even more remarkable is the fact that it achieved it despite its 229-minute runtime. While Indian titles are known for being front-loaded, this doesn't erase such an incredible debut.

Debuting in fourth place, Searchlight's Ready or Not 2: Here I Come earned a fine $9 million in 3,010 theaters. While it had a big push, the debut was only slightly better than the original's $8 million, and that grows to $11 million if we count its five-day debut.

The budget was less than $20 million, so this is not a bad place to start. At the same time, however, it feels like the film should've opened higher than this. After all, the original was a sleeper hit and spawned a good life in home media. But Ready or Not 2 suffered two big setbacks; the first was releasing the sequel 7 years later. The audience may have been on board with the idea, but that long gap made them lose interest. It didn't help that it opened on the same weekend as a big blockbuster like Project Hail Mary. Counter-programming exists, but it looks like the demographics over-lapped a bit.

The other setback was that there was a feeling that the film didn't really warrant its existence with audiences. Ready or Not was a solid film wrapped up with a nice bow, and perhaps a lot of people just didn't think a follow-up felt justified. Even with positive reviews, 75% on RT is a step down from the original's 89%. And despite trying to change the formula by adding more cast members, it really couldn't shake the feeling that it felt like the original film with very little changes.

According to Searchlight, 52% of the audience was female, and 59% was in the 18-34 demographic. That's a demographic that is showing up to Project Hail Mary instead. They gave it a solid "B+" on CinemaScore, the same grade as the original. With some competition ahead, it'd be a surprise if Ready or Not 2 topped the original's $28.7 million domestic total.

Universal's Reminders of Him added $8 million this weekend. That's a rough 55% drop, much steeper than Regretting You (43%) and It Ends with Us (53%). Through 10 days, the Colleen Hoover adaptation has amassed $33.1 million, and it doesn't look like it might get to $50 million with these kinds of drops.

In sixth place, Scream 7 is slightly recovering from its rough drops. Although it it still fell 49%, adding $4.3 million. The film has amassed $114.5 million, officially becoming the highest grossing film in the franchise unadjusted. It should hit $120 million, but it won't make it much further than that.

Sony's Goat eased just 27%, for a $3.4 million. The film's domestic total stands at $97.4 million, and it will cross the $100 million milestone next week.

In eighth place, A24's Undertone saw a steep drop following its surprising debut. It collapsed a poor 68%, earning $3 million. But given its cheap $500K budget and the fact that it has earned $15.2 million in 10 days, it doesn't look like anyone will be hurting about it.

Viva Kids released Pout-Pout Fish in 1,854 theaters, and it could only muster a weak $1.5 million. Somehow that still marks the company's biggest debut, but that's not saying much.

Rounding out the Top 10 was MET Opera: Tristan und Isolde, which earned $772K in 709 theaters.

After suffering a severe loss in theaters (2,596), WB's The Bride! is not long for this world. The film collapsed a horrible 86%, earning just $285,508 this weekend. The film has earned a pathetic $12.5 million domestically.

Coming off its Best Picture win, One Battle After Another added a few screenings, although it only earned $197,514. Not like it was expected to make big business at this point, the film is already available on HBO Max and in home media. That takes its lifetime gross to $72.8 million.

OVERSEAS

Project Hail Mary launched with $60.4 million overseas, for a pretty great $140.9 million worldwide debut. The best debuts were in the UK ($10.2M), China ($7.1M), Australia ($5M), South Korea ($4.3M), Germany ($4.1M), Mexico ($3M), France ($2.6M), Japan ($2.6M), Italy ($1.5M), Brazil ($1.3M), Netherlands ($1.2M), United Arab Emirates ($1M), Taiwan ($940K), Poland ($780K), Belgium ($685K), Sweden ($672K), Norway ($660K), Sauri Arabia ($660K), Denmark ($600K), Switzerland ($580K), Hong Kong ($555K), Czech Republic ($540K), New Zealand ($525K), Philippines ($480K), Colombia ($450K), Austria ($450K), Hungary ($390K), Finland ($380K) Peru ($370K) Ukraine ($370K), Singapore ($365K), Argentina ($352K), Portugal ($350K) and Chile ($330K).

It's tough to compare it to The Martian. Not only because of exchange rates, but because that film had staggered releases. That film opened in around 60% of its markets, while Hail Mary opened in 90%. Another thing is that Martian had an incredible run in Asia, a market that Hail Mary didn't exactly light fire at. That film ended up with a huge $402 million overseas and $630 million worldwide. Given how it's skewing domestically, Hail Mary must have great legs in order to recoup its $200 million budget. But so far, it's off to a pretty great start.

Moving to India, Dhurandhar: The Revenge destroyed many records. It debuted with a fantastic $81 million worldwide, which is the second biggest global opening ever for an Indian title (just behind Pushpa 2 – The Rule with $97.9M), but the biggest for a Bollywood title.

Hoppers added $34.2 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to $242.3 million. It opened in China with $9.6 million, the highest opening weekend for an original animated film since **Coco* in 2017. The best markets are the UK ($12.7M), Mexico ($11.2M), China ($9.6M), Germany ($9.6M), France ($7.7M), Spain ($6.4M), Japan ($6.1M), Italy ($5M), Brazil ($4.4M) and South Korea ($4.3M).

Reminders of Him added $7.1 million, for a $53.9 million worldwide run. It debuted in Brazil ($700K), France ($600K), Middle East ($142K), and South Africa ($62K). The best markets are Germany ($5M), the UK ($3.3M), and Australia ($2.4M). It still has some markets left, but it will be easily profitable.

Scream 7 added $6.2 million, taking its worldwide total to $193.8 million. The best markets are the UK ($10M+), France ($9.5M), Mexico ($7.5M), and Germany ($5.8M). By next week, it should cross the $200 million worldwide milestone.

Ready or Not 2 debuted with $2.8 million overseas, for a $11.8 million worldwide debut. The best market was the UK ($800K), while the film had very soft debuts across the board, although this marks just 30% of its overseas markets. It will continue expanding, but it indicates that this might not have a lot of life overseas.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

• Sony's Anaconda has closed with a pretty good $134 million worldwide. Not quite bad for a comedy, especially one whose selling point is remaking the original Anaconda. Turns out the recipe to some audience curiosity is "Jack Black and Paul Rudd are chased by an anaconda in the jungle". Gee, who would've thought?

THIS WEEKEND

We've got one wide release, and it's not expected to do big numbers.

WB is releasing the action comedy They Will Kill You, starring Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette. Its plot follows an ex-convict who answers an ad to be a housekeeper at a mysterious New York City high-rise, not realizing she is entering a community that has seen a number of disappearances over the years. Even with positive reviews, the film lacks notable buzz, and being sandwiched between another action comedy (Ready or Not 2) and Mario opening the week afterwards, it's gonna need a big debut before being completely devoured.

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