Project Hail Mary will continue orbiting theaters for the time being

Is a streamer finally recognizing the benefits of heftier theatrical runs, creating more demand for the film when it does end up on streaming? Possibly. Project Hail Mary has already made $517 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest movies of the year. Furthermore, Ryan Gosling’s space epic is spending more time in theaters than Amazon MGM’s previous release, Crime 101, which received solid reviews but faced stiffer box-office competition upon release. Instead of allowing people to discover Crime in theaters, Amazon tossed the movie on streaming after 45 days. Still, it’s a longer run than the studio gave Chris Pratt’s seated sci-fi movie, Mercy, which, despite debuting atop the box office, made less than Crime 101 and hit streaming less than a month after release.

These release windows are a sticking point in the showdown between streamers and theater owners. At CinemaCon this week, Paramount CEO David Ellison, who, in all likelihood, will soon own Warner Bros., gave exhibitors his word that his studios would adhere to 45-day theatrical windows before going to VOD and a 90-day window before going to Paramount+. It’s a promise he made less than a month after Paramount sent the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year, Scream 7, to VOD after 32 days.