Ryan Gosling’s acclaimed sci-fi blockbuster is officially arriving on Prime Video on July 3, 2026, and it has taken quite an unusual path to get there. For a film this big and this well received, the streaming journey has been anything but straightforward.
Most Amazon MGM Studios films follow a simple route: theatres first, then straight to Prime Video around 45 days later. Project Hail Mary did not follow that path at all. After its theatrical release on March 20, the film first became available to rent or buy through Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) on May 12. It then quietly appeared on Amazon’s MGM+ platform on June 18—a streaming channel separate from Prime Video—before finally making its way to Prime Video on July 3. It is a staggered, three-step streaming strategy that Amazon MGM has not really used before, and the industry is watching closely to see how it works.
Before landing on streaming platforms, Project Hail Mary had a strong run in theatres. The film earned $344 million in the United States alone and $339.5 million from international markets, bringing its worldwide total to $683.5 million. Its domestic theatrical run officially wrapped on June 25. For an original sci-fi film that is neither a sequel nor part of an established franchise, these numbers are impressive.
Project Hail Mary is based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir, the same author behind The Martian. Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there. He slowly pieces together that he has been sent on a desperate interstellar mission. The Sun is slowly dying, drained by a mysterious substance, and he is humanity’s last hope of finding an answer before it is too late.
Along the way, Ryland encounters an alien being shaped like a rock-like spider, whom he names Rocky. Rocky’s planet is facing the exact same problem as Earth. Despite not speaking the same language, the two slowly find a way to communicate and work together to try to save both their worlds. It is a story about science, loneliness, friendship, and what it means to keep going even when the odds are against you.
The film was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the duo behind The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, while the screenplay was written by Drew Goddard, who also adapted The Martian for the screen. Alongside Gosling, the film features Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, and Liz Kingsman. Rocky the alien is voiced by James Ortiz.
The response to Project Hail Mary has been outstanding. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 94% critics score based on 415 reviews, making it one of the best-reviewed films of the year. Audiences agreed, giving it a 95% score based on more than 25,000 verified user ratings. That kind of agreement between critics and audiences is rare, and it speaks to just how well the film works as both a blockbuster and a genuinely moving story.
Project Hail Mary combines large-scale science fiction with survival, mystery and first-contact storytelling rather than traditional action spectacle. Much of the film unfolds through Ryland Grace’s scientific problem-solving aboard a lone spacecraft, while his unlikely friendship with Rocky gradually becomes the emotional centre of the story. The adaptation has been widely praised for balancing complex scientific ideas with humour and character-driven storytelling, making it accessible to audiences beyond hardcore science-fiction fans. With its theatrical run now complete, the film begins its next chapter on Prime Video, giving viewers who missed it in cinemas the opportunity to experience one of 2026’s most talked-about original releases.
Read More:
