Ryan Gosling made a surprise appearance at a New York movie theater on the opening night of his latest big screen blockbuster, Project Hail Mary.
Gosling, who welcomed a packed house, flipped the script on who is responsible for keeping movie theaters afloat amid rising streaming and declining box office revenue.
“Six years ago, I received the manuscript,” Gosling said of “Project Hail Mary.” “[This is]the most ambitious work I’ve ever made. It seemed impossible. It would be too good not to try. Six years later, we did it. Now, we’re all back in the theaters. It’s not your job to keep theaters open. It’s our job to make things worth going to the theaters for.”
Gosling’s parting words were, “You’re about to go to another galaxy, make an alien best friend, and save a planet. This movie is for you. Enjoy the journey!”
Hollywood has been sounding the alarm about the health of movie theaters since the pandemic, but the industry has yet to return to its pre-pandemic peak of $11 billion in annual domestic box office revenue. Still, Gosling knows a thing or two about getting his butt back in his seat. He starred as Ken in ‘Barbie’, a blockbuster phenomenon and the highest-grossing film of 2023.
“Project Hail Mary” shattered box office expectations, with worldwide box office receipts soaring to $140.9 million in its opening weekend. The box office gross makes the sci-fi blockbuster the biggest debut of 2026 so far (surpassing “Scream 7,” which grossed $97.2 million worldwide) and the biggest start in Amazon MGM history (the studio’s previous record is “Creed III” at $100 million).
Directed by 21 Jump Street duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary follows Gosling, a molecular biologist who works as a schoolteacher hired on a mission to save Earth from an intergalactic threat. While in space, he befriends a cunning extraterrestrial creature he names Rocky. The film also stars Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leon, and Milana Weintrub.
