Lead: Amazon MGM Studios’ Project Hail Mary continued its strong theatrical run over the weekend, posting an updated second-weekend gross of $53.1 million after a $14.6 million Friday. That performance places the Ryan Gosling–produced original well ahead of 2024 tentpoles’ second frames and marks an unusually robust hold for a non-franchise release. Counterprogramming horror entries — notably New Line/Nocturna’s They Will Kill You and Searchlight’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come — opened modestly, with They Will Kill You tracking roughly $5 million to $6 million. Family fare from Disney/Pixar’s Hoppers remained steady in fourth place, continuing to deliver reliable grosses for the spring window.
Key Takeaways
- Project Hail Mary: updated 3-day second weekend $53.1M after Friday $14.6M, 4,077 theaters, running total $162.9M (wk 2/week 22 in some tallies).
- They Will Kill You opened in 2,778 theaters to an estimated $5M–$5.5M three-day, with Friday/previews around $2.2M and international early returns of $1.4M across 66 territories.
- Hoppers (Disney/Pixar) posted an estimated fourth-weekend of $11.3M, running cume about $137.6M and surpassing Elio’s domestic take of $72.9M.
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is near a $4M second weekend (–56%), 10-day cume $16.2M; PostTrak and RT audience metrics show solid core fandom but limited expansion.
- Weekend box office for the top titles totaled roughly $96.8M, about 25% ahead of the comparable spring weekend last year per studio tallies.
- Audience splits for Project Hail Mary in weekend two: 54% men, 36% women; women over 25 = 37%, men over 25 = 36%, men under 25 = 19%.
- Social reach: They Will Kill You measured at ~183M (RelishMix), +18% vs. genre norms, but that did not translate into a breakout domestic opening.
Background
The spring theatrical window has re-emerged as fertile ground for original event films, following the success of titles such as Everything Everywhere All at Once and Sinners. Studios appear willing to take measured creative and financial risks on non-franchise pictures when they can be positioned as must-see tentpoles; Project Hail Mary is the latest example. Historically, large second-weekend holds for originals are rare — 2009’s Avatar posted a $75.6M second weekend before it became a long-running franchise — making Project Hail Mary’s hold notable in industry comparisons.
COVID-19’s legacy continues to shape attendance patterns: overall admissions have recovered unevenly and certain demos remain less frequent in theaters than pre-pandemic. That uneven return shows up both in the relative strength of family and event fare (where PLF/Imax and established IP still help) and the difficulty counterprogramming faces when not aligned to a major holiday or breakout star-driven platform. Marketing strategies, P&A allocations, and co-finance structures further complicate how studios convert social reach and critical reception into box office momentum.
Main Event
Project Hail Mary expanded to roughly 4,077 theaters and, after a stronger-than-expected Friday, reached an updated second-weekend sum of $53.1M (some earlier tallies projected $46M+). That places its second frame ahead of several recent prestige or franchise pictures: Oppenheimer posted $46.7M in its second weekend and Dune: Part Two reached $46.2M in its second weekend. The updated weekend also lifts the film’s running total into the high six figures domestically, with weekend-to-weekend declines well within what studios consider a healthy hold for original event releases.
They Will Kill You opened broadly across 2,778 locations with Friday/previews near $2.2M and an estimated three-day range of $5M–$5.5M. Early international sales in about 66 territories were modest at $1.4M. Rotten Tomatoes headline scores and audience metrics are favourable (RT critics ~72%, audience metrics trending positively), but that critical momentum paired with substantial social reach did not produce a breakout U.S. start.
Hoppers continued to perform strongly on the family side, playing in roughly 3,650 theaters and delivering an estimated $11.3M for its fourth weekend and a running cume in the $130M–$140M range. Bollywood title Dhurandhar: The Revenge also posted a notable hold in limited play, while midrange studio releases such as Reminders of Him and Ready or Not 2 saw steeper week-to-week drops and smaller cumulative totals.
Analysis & Implications
Project Hail Mary’s weekend shows how original event films can still command mainstream attention if marketed and positioned correctly. The film benefits from a star-led production team (Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal), premium format placements (PLF/Imax), and strong PostTrak exits — all elements that amplify word-of-mouth. Studios evaluating original IP will likely see this as a proof point for allocating scale-appropriate P&A to titles that can play as event cinema.
By contrast, the modest openings for They Will Kill You and Ready or Not 2 underline the limits of counterprogramming and the sensitivity of horror subgenres to calendar crowding. Both titles appeal to overlapping demos and leaned on relatively conservative P&A spends; when two similar genre films debut close together, they risk cannibalizing each other’s reach. Searchlight and New Line appear to be optimizing for margin rather than breakout market share, a commercial calculus that reduces downside but also caps upside.
Co-finance arrangements can further mute a studio’s promotional appetite. They Will Kill You had a reported $20M net production cost with shared financing; when a studio lacks majority exposure, decisions on incremental P&A investment become more restrained. Conversely, films with higher production costs, marquee talent, or franchise upside often receive heavier marketing to expand demos — a reality illustrated by Send Help’s near-$100M global take, which had deeper talent and spend behind it.
Comparison & Data
| Title | Theaters | Fri | 3-Day | Total | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Mary (Amz) | 4,077 | $14.6M | $53.1M | $162.9M | 2 |
| Hoppers (Dis) | 3,650 | $3.1M | $11.3M | $137.6M | 4 |
| They Will Kill You (WB/NL) | 2,778 | $2.3M | $5M–$5.5M | — | 1 |
| Reminders of Him (Uni) | 3,181 | $1.5M | $4.6M | $40.9M | 3 |
| Ready or Not 2 (Sea) | 3,010 | $1.2M | $4M | $16.2M | 2 |
Context: the table summarizes studio-reported estimates and weekend tallies. Project Hail Mary’s hold is unusually strong for an original, while genre counterprogramming shows fragmentation when multiple like-minded films target overlapping audiences. Premium formats and targeted demos (men 25+, women 25+) contributed meaningfully to the event picture’s resilience.
Reactions & Quotes
Industry reaction has emphasized the opportunity in spring for original films, even as studios approach mid‑budget genre titles with fiscal caution.
“Spring is re-emerging as a viable window for original event films, but success requires a mix of premium formats, star power and clear demo targeting.”
Comscore (industry data)
“They Will Kill You registered a social reach of about 183 million, roughly 18% above horror norms, yet that didn’t fully convert into a breakout domestic opening.”
RelishMix (social metrics)
Unconfirmed
- Future franchise plans for Project Hail Mary remain speculative and have not been confirmed by Amazon MGM or producers.
- Exact P&A spends for They Will Kill You and Ready or Not 2 were not publicly disclosed; budgets cited in public reports may not reflect final marketing commitments.
- International rollouts for They Will Kill You may change as territories report weekend grosses; current $1.4M is an early snapshot.
Bottom Line
Project Hail Mary’s second-weekend strength is a notable reminder that original, well-packaged event cinema can still drive meaningful box office results in the post-pandemic landscape. Premium formats, strong PostTrak exits and a star-led production team combined to give the film a hold that outpaced several recent high-profile releases in their second frames.
For studios and distributors, the mixed weekend offers two clear lessons: invest selectively when an original film demonstrates event potential, and recognize the limitations of closely clustered counterprogramming. The economics of co-finance deals and conservative P&A strategies will continue to shape how mid-budget genre films are launched; the market will be watching whether Project Hail Mary’s momentum sustains and whether horror counterprogramming can find room to scale on future weekends.
Sources
- Deadline — (entertainment industry trade reporting; primary box-office update)
- Box Office Mojo — (box-office historical data & weekend summaries)
- Comscore — (industry attendance and calendar impact data)
- Rotten Tomatoes — (critic and audience scoring aggregation)