Weekend predictions: Project Hail Mary could hit $80 million this weekend

March 20, 2026

After a few week’s hiatus, our weekend predictions return this weekend with a potential blockbuster debut. Amazon MGM’s Project Hail Mary looks set to get off the ground with an excellent opening weekend. This has been the studio’s big hope for a breakout success after a run of middling to poor results, and the stars seem aligned for a great launch. Tracking has been strong for weeks, with an opening somewhere between $50 million and $70 million generally expected. Its $12 million in previews yesterday point to something even bigger than that.

Here’s a quick rundown of our model’s predictions this week…

First up, the baseline for Project Hail Mary…

An audience tracking adjustment of 201% is already very high, but the preview numbers are exceptional…

Amazon MGM point to this being the second-best preview figure for a non-sequel, non-franchise film, behind only It. Even with poor daily legs, the film should soar past $50 million this weekend, with $80 million its new target.

Looking to play second fiddle this weekend is horror sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come…

Factoring in audience tracking, the model has been expecting an opening very much in line with the original movie. The previews landed exactly where they needed to…

Dhurandhar: The Revenge is a major wildcard, but should make it into the top 5. With this weekend competing with Snow White on the year-on-year comparison, this will be an easy victory for 2026.

All eyes will be on Project Hail Mary (both literally and figuratively) this weekend. Our model is optimistic for a very, very good weekend domestically. If it can do solid business internationally too, this big bet for Amazon could end up in the black soon.

Bruce Nash, bruce.nash@the-numbers.com.

Theater counts: Project Hail Mary launches in 4,007 theaters

March 19, 2026

Four new wide releases hit theaters this weekend. Leading the charge is the highly-anticipated sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary, which blasts into 4,007 theaters. Unless a calamity of cosmic proportions hits in the next 24 hours, it will unseat Hoppers at the top of the box office chart. The animated adventure claimed the top spot at the box office last weekend, earning $28.66m, and it will pass $100 million in total domestically today.

Project Hail Mary, based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir, stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a middle-school teacher turned astronaut who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there. He soon realizes he is humanity’s last hope to save Earth from a solar catastrophe. Directed by the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the film also stars Sandra Hüller and Milana Vayntrub.

Also opening wide this weekend is the survival horror sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Samara Weaving returns as Grace, facing off against four rival elite families in a deadly ritual. The 2019 original earned $28.71m domestically and $27.99m internationally. The sequel opens in 3,010 locations and co-stars Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Elijah Wood.

For families, Viva Pictures is releasing the animated adventure The Pout Pout Fish in 1,860 theaters. Based on the children’s book series by Deborah Diesen, the story follows a grumpy fish and a young sea dragon on a quest to find a mythical wish-granting fish. The voice cast includes Nick Offerman, Nina Oyama, Miranda Otto, and Jordin Sparks.

Meanwhile, the Indian action sequel Dhurandhar: The Revenge debuts today in 987 theaters. The film earned an estimated $1.99m in Wednesday previews. Dhurandhar took in $12.4m domestically and $124.12m internationally at the box office.

Rounding out the top five widest releases this weekend is current chart-topper Hoppers, which retains a strong footprint of 3,675 theaters. Reminders of Him increases to 3,441 venues, while undertone holds steady in 2,570 movie houses.

Looking ahead to next weekend, They Will Kill You opens in an estimated 2,700 locations. The Mummy Returns and The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist also debut. These films are projected to arrive in approximately 1,350 and 700 theaters, respectively.

Theater Counts for March 20

Theater counts for March 27

The new The Numbers

March 11, 2026

We’re excited to announce a major update to The Numbers. We’re rebuilding the site to take advantage of new technologies and introduce a suite of new features. Look for many more updates in the days and weeks to come, but we wanted to get the site up and running on our new servers as quickly as possible so you can still get our first-in-the-industry box office reporting while we work.

We imagine you have some questions…

Where have you been?
This is a major upgrade to all our systems, from our back-end OpusData database, through The Numbers server infrastructure to the web-site front end. As is common with a major project like this, we’ve hit some issues along the way that have slowed progress. We’re working round the clock to get everything up and running… watch this space!

Where are the historical charts, movie pages, franchise information, records pages…?
We’ll be bringing back pages from the old version of the site ASAP, prioritizing the most popular pages first.

Are you going to put everything behind a paywall?
No! The Numbers has always been completely free to use, and we intend to keep it that way.

Can’t you just bring back the old site?
Unfortunately, the old site is incompatible with our new infrastructure. After careful consideration, we decided to focus our resources on improving the new site, rather than dividing our time between making the old site compatible with the new infrastructure and building the new site. That will pay off in the end, and we apologize that things will be “under construction” for a while.

We’ll post regular updates on progress here on the home page, and on social media. Feel free to message us there if you have questions, or email us at support@the-numbers.com.

We look forward to sharing new features with you soon!

Hoppers bounds along as Reminders of Him arrives as second-widest release

March 11, 2026

Last weekend was a breakout success for newcomer Hoppers as the Disney-Pixar film hopped to a three-day debut of $45.35 million at the domestic box office. Scream 7 followed with a solid $17 million in its second weekend, pushing its 10-day total to $93.09 million. The other film to make its theatrical launch, The Bride landed in third place, picking up $7.05 million from 3,304 locations. This weekend, two new wide releases hit theaters, ready to shake up the current box office leaderboard.

Debuting in 3,402 theaters this weekend is the romantic drama, Reminders of Him. The film follows Kenna Rowan, who returns home after serving five years in prison for a car accident that killed her boyfriend. Her sole goal is to reconnect with the daughter she left behind, but the child’s guardians refuse to let her near. As Kenna struggles to rebuild her life, she forms an unexpected bond with Ledger, one of the few willing to give her a second chance. Starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers, the film is based on the 2022 novel by Colleen Hoover.

Also opening wide this weekend is the psychological horror undertone from A24. The film follows Evy, a paranormal podcast host who moves back home to care for her dying mother. While working on her podcast, she receives mysterious audio recordings from a couple who believe their house is haunted. As she listens to the files, the strange noises start to affect her own life and mind, blurring the line between the recordings and reality. undertone will arrive in 2,570 locations across North America.

Expanding from 200 theaters on February 27 to 900 theaters this weekend is the tenth anniversary re-release of the Leonardo DiCaprio western adventure, The Revenant. The film is the harrowing true story of Hugh Glass, a legendary explorer and frontiersman who endures the unimaginable in his quest to survive after a series of tragedies. The Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu-directed feature has earned well over $500 million in worldwide sales since its original release on Christmas Day, 2015.

Rounding out the top five widest releases this weekend, current chart topper Hoppers, retains its 4,000-theater count. The Bride! maintains its 3,304-theater footprint, while Scream 7 holds the number four spot, showing in 3,243 locations. GOAT dips below 3,000 theaters for the first time, but is still playing in a respectable 2,946 movie houses.

Looking ahead to next weekend, we see two more wide releases make their theatrical debuts. These include the highly-anticipated Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling, and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. These films are projected to arrive in approximately 4,000 and 3,000 theaters, respectively.