'Project Hail Mary' lands in China as critics praise new sci-fi classic

Hailed by sci-fi fans and audiences as a new classic, "Project Hail Mary" opened across China last weekend.

A still from "Project Hail Mary." [Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment]

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and starring Ryan Gosling, the film follows amnesiac science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling), who wakes aboard a spaceship light-years from home. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to save Earth and forms an unlikely alien friendship that could save both their worlds.

"It's such an epic journey," Gosling recalled of his first reaction after reading the manuscript Andy Weir sent him in 2020. The actor, who also serves as a producer on the film, added: "'Project Hail Mary' is about the sun dying, but it's also deeply hopeful. It supports the idea that we're capable of solving impossible problems — that if we don't give up, miracles are possible."

What struck Lord and Miller was not simply the audacity of Weir's premise but the pivot the story makes midway through, from isolation to partnership.

"What's really interesting about this movie is that we don't think of it as sci-fi," Miller pointed out. "We think of it as a human story, a story about a relationship, about a friendship."

"We are living through a time where things can seem impossible, and this movie is about what is possible when people come together with imagination and goodwill," Lord said.

"It's about science, yes," said producer Amy Pascal. "But it's also about faith — faith in people, faith in collaboration. We're living in a time where everyone is scared of each other. No one trusts each other. This movie is about having to listen. You have to learn someone else's language. You have to understand where they're coming from, or you can't save the world."

As "Project Hail Mary" ventures into unknown regions of space, four-time Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert and his team consulted scientists and image specialists to ground the film's cosmic environments in plausible astrophysics.

"We're going deep into space to places where nobody's been," Lambert said. "We spoke to NASA and to the people who take star images and put them all together to make those beautiful nebulae, because we were trying to keep things as physically plausible as possible."

The spectacle of the film is "off the charts," Miller said. The directors opted to shoot in the IMAX format to juxtapose the story's intimacy with its epic scale.

"What's wonderful about seeing a film in a large format like IMAX is that it exceeds your field of vision," Lord said. "You're following the characters around, and you can't see the edge of the screen, so you feel like it's all around you."

Miller added, "The hugeness of it, the vastness of it in IMAX, is breathtaking."

The film is part of the "Filmed For IMAX" program, with nearly two hours of footage presented in IMAX's expanded aspect ratio.

Decorations and an installation at a cinema for the premiere of "Project Hail Mary" in Beijing, March 1, 2026. [Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment]

IMAX China noted that during its opening weekend, the film grossed 16.89 million yuan ($2.5 million) on IMAX screens, accounting for 34% of its total box office with roughly 1% of the national screen count — the highest opening weekend share for a sci-fi film in IMAX history and the highest IMAX opening weekend gross and share for a Hollywood film in China in 2026.

The film has drawn positive responses from audiences and the Chinese sci-fi industry since its premiere. It earned nearly 50 million yuan in the country over the weekend and opened to $141 million worldwide.

"'Project Hail Mary' is a beam of sci-fi light in a world that's sinking," said Ji Shaoting, founder and CEO of Future Affairs Administration, a Chinese sci-fi culture company. "The film preserves the novel's sense of humor and improves the portrayal of its female characters."

She also recommended that sci-fi fans read the novel first — the Chinese edition is published by Yilin Press — and then watch the film, as the two offer different experiences.

Tony Xia, film development director at sci-fi culture company Eight Light Minutes, said that while the pacing still felt rushed, the film's depiction of never-before-seen cosmic wonders far surpasses the original novel.

"It's hard to believe this story was actually made into a film today," Xia said."Five stars to the ambition of the investors and the outstanding work of the artists!"