“Project Hail Mary” key art featuring Ryan Gosling.
Amazon MGM Studios
Ryan Gosling’s blockbuster sci-fi hit Project Hail Mary is coming soon to streaming video on demand, but not in the place it was expected to make its subscription service debut.
Project Hail Mary is currently winding up its theatrical run, as it dropped from playing in 777 North American venues May 29 through June 4 to 291 theaters over the weekend. To date, Project Hail Mary has earned $342.9 million domestically and $679.7 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $679.7 million. Per Puck News, Project Hail Mary had a $200 million production budget before marketing expenses.
While the film arrived on PVOD on May 12, Amazon MGM Studios is moving on to the next phase of its streaming strategy. According to a new listing on the streaming platform, Project Hail Mary will debut on streaming video on demand on MGM+ on Thursday, June 18.
Formerly EPIX, MGM+ is an ad-free streaming app owned by Amazon and available on its own or through Amazon’s Prime Video platform for $7.99 per month or $62.04 yearly (which equates to $5.17 per month).
While Project Hail Mary seemed to be a film destined to debut on Prime Video since it is an Amazon MGM Studios film, on rare occasion the studio will debut its films on MGM+ first. For example, Amazon MGM’s Best Picture Oscar nominee American Fiction made its SVOD debut on March 8, 2024, before pivoting to Prime Video just over two months later, on May 10, 2024.
As to why Project Hail Mary is streaming on MGM+ first instead of Prime Video, only Amazon MGM Studios knows for sure (an email is out to MGM+ to get an answer). It stands to reason, however, that it’s due to a licensing agreement that was made before the film even hit theaters. Either way, Amazon will benefit from the move because it owns both Prime Video and MGM+ — and the latter will no doubt enjoy a boost in subscriptions since Project Hail Mary is a high-profile title.
What Is ‘Project Hail Mary’ About?
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary opened in theaters on March 20 before making its debut on digital streaming via premium video on demand on May 12.
Adapted for the screen by Drew Goddard from author Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teacher who is recruited to go on an interstellar mission to unravel the mystery of a substance that is causing the sun to die out before it wipes out all life on Earth.
During the years-long mission, Ryland teams with a spider-shaped alien he names Rocky (voice of James Ortiz) to solve the mystery, since his planet’s inhabitants are facing the same fate as those on Earth.
Rated PG-13, Project Hail Mary also stars Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung and Liz Kingsman.
Project Hail Mary, which is currently playing in 219 theaters nationwide and is available for purchase or rent on PVOD, arrives on SVOD on MGM+ on June 18.