Amazon MGM Studios has a lot on the line with the upcoming release of their original sci-fi feature PROJECT HAIL MARY. The movie is based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Andy Weir, the same author who published “The Martian” in 2011, which was turned into a very successful 2015 movie starring Matt Damon. Exhibitors are rooting for PROJECT HAIL MARY to find similar success, showing that movies based on original stories have the ability to earn enough at the box office to justify big budgets, in this case nearly $200 million.
Box office analyst Scott Mendelson gives a comprehensive breakdown of what success would look like for Amazon, comparing the new film to movies such as THE MARTIAN, GRAVITY and PASSENGERS. The obvious caveat to these comparisons is that all of those movies came out before COVID, when placing a bet on non-franchise sci-fi titles was more common. If PROJECT HAIL MARY is successful, it could encourage Amazon and other studios to invest in similar projects going forward. Fingers crossed….
