Why “Project Hail Mary” struggled to find IMAX screens in India

Indian cinema has been embroiled in prioritising finances over great movies, and yet again, cinephiles took a dig at Indian theatres for not allotting enough screens to Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary. By enough screens, I mean IMAX screens made only for such masterpieces. The movie initially struggled to get IMAX screens in India due to the release and high demand for Dhurandhar 2. Despite being filmed specially for IMAX, it was still released mostly in 2D and 4DX formats, with very few or almost no IMAX screens provided initially.

What is “Project Hail Mary”?

Project Hail Mary, featuring Ryan Gosling, was released on March 20, 2026, in the United States and on March 26, 2026, in India. The movie revolves around the life of an American middle-school science teacher, Ryland Grace, who is later approached by a government agent, Eva Stratt, to study the cause of the dimming of the Sun, which could eventually destroy planets, including Earth.

To save the planet and identify the cause and solution, Grace, along with two other astronauts, is sent on a suicidal mission with a lesser possibility of returning alive. However, Grace is not an astronaut and initially refuses to go, but he is still forced into the mission. During the journey, he loses his two fellow astronauts and becomes the only survivor on the spacecraft. Despite having limited knowledge of astrophysics, he continues to focus on finding the cause and a possible solution.

During his mission, he also made an unexpected friendship with a creature that led to the display of a mesmerising bond of emotion and science together. The movie not only shows the journey of saving the world from a disaster but also highlights how beings can help each other in any situation.

Not only the storyline, but the visual aesthetics of the movie are a literal attraction in themselves. The movie was filmed using high-resolution cameras, which offer a taller picture format covering the total length of big screens like IMAX with minimal black bars on the top and the bottom of the screens. This was the reason why the fans were expecting the movie to be released on IMAX screens in India, where they could have experienced the movie with more details and depth, truly appreciating the visuals at their full scale.

Why Project Hail Mary Did Not Get IMAX?

The movie Project Hail Mary faced an initial shortage of IMAX screens due to the high demand for the Bollywood film “Dhurandhar: The Revenge”, the sequel to “Dhurandhar”, in many states of India, leaving very few or almost no IMAX screens available for other movies.

“Dhurandhar”, featuring Ranveer Singh, was released on December 5, 2025, and its ending left the audience in suspense, which increased the excitement for the second part. Despite performing well in theatres, it was released on OTT within a few days, on January 30, 2026, which further built anticipation among viewers for its sequel.

Other films had already predicted the success of “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” by looking at the craze among fans, and many chose to delay their releases. One such film was “Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups”, which avoided a major box office clash. For the same reason, “Project Hail Mary” was also delayed in India; while it was released worldwide on March 20, 2026, it was released in India six days later, on March 26, 2026. 

Even after releasing six days later, the movie still struggled to get IMAX screens, as Dhurandhar: The Revenge was prioritised by most exhibitors, including PVR and Cinépolis, due to its strong financial performance. This happened even though “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” was not filmed for IMAX, while “Project Hail Mary” was specially filmed for IMAX screens.

“Dhurandhar: The Revenge” vs “Project Hail Mary”

“Dhurandhar: The Revenge”, often called “Dhurandhar 2”, was released on March 19, 2026. While being fictional, the movie is inspired by real-life events, including the 1999 IC-814 hijack, the 2001 Parliament attack, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The movie follows an Indian undercover agent who is tasked with dismantling a Pakistani terror group by getting into it as a member of the group and securing an important position within the organisation.

The film presents a story of the agent, exploring both his present mission and the past he carries. It is not only intense but also emotional and thrilling for the audience. The movie strongly highlights patriotism and connects with viewers by evoking nationalism for the country. Along with the storyline, it also delivers intense action sequences, with several scenes featuring intense, brutal, and uncompromising violence that leave a strong impact on the audience.

Whereas Project Hail Mary portrays the story of an American middle-school science teacher, Ryland Grace, who goes on a suicidal mission to save Earth and other planets from extinction. The movie shows a pure friendship between Grace and a huge, rock-like alien, Rocky, he met during his mission. “Project Hail Mary” displays wide and expensive shots of scientifically rich and breathtaking space visuals by using high-resolution cameras. The movie focuses more on securing the realistic visuals than on the over-the-top visuals, maintaining its authenticity.

Even though the scenes in “Dhurandhar” are very rich, the movie was not filmed specially for IMAX, as it does not offer a taller picture format. Because of this, the movie displays almost the same quality on smaller screens as it does on IMAX. On the other hand, “Project Hail Mary” was filmed for big screens, and projecting it on smaller screens affected its picture quality. Prioritising Dhurandhar for IMAX seems mainly because of its high demand and better box office performance, as it is based on events that connect more with the Indian audience.

Project Hail Mary Book

The movie Project Hail Mary is an adaptation of the science fiction novel Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, published on May 4, 2021. Even though the movie follows the storyline of the novel, the way the story is delivered is different. One major difference is that the movie focuses more on character interaction and comedic elements, while the novel gives more importance to technical science.

The pacing also differs. In the movie, the bond between Rocky and Grace develops strongly in a few days, while in the novel, it takes months to build that connection. Another major difference is in the rescue plot. In the novel, Grace exposes himself to the Eridian environment, taking a big risk to save Rocky, whereas in the movie, Grace waits and continues his experiments for Rocky to recover on his own.

Even though the novel and the movie differ in how the story is presented, the core storyline remains the same. The audience did not complain much and instead appreciated the cinematography and the overall delivery of the film.

Project Hail Mary IMAX Screens in India

Although the movie initially faced a shortage of IMAX screens, it later secured them in several cities due to the growing demand and backlash from fans. Find the details of the available IMAX screening for Project Hail Mary below: 

• Mumbai (PVR ICON Phoenix Palladium, Lower Parel; INOX R City, Ghatkopar; INOX Megaplex, Oberoi Sky City Mall; EROS INOX IMAX, Churchgate; Cinepolis Nexus Seawoods, Navi Mumbai; Miraj Cinemas IMAX, Wadala)
  
• Delhi NCR (PVR Vegas, Dwarka; PVR Select City Walk, Saket; PVR IMAX with Laser, Vasant Vihar; INOX Vishal Mall, Rajouri Garden; INOX Paras IMAX, Nehru Place; PVR Ambience Mall, Gurugram; PVR Superplex Mall of India, Noida)
  
• Bengaluru (PVR VR Whitefield; PVR Vega City; INOX Mantri Square; INOX Galleria Mall; Cinepolis Nexus Shantiniketan)
  
• Chennai (PVR Palazzo; INOX Phoenix Market City)
  
• Pune (INOX Megaplex Wakad; Cinepolis Westend Mall, Aundh)
  
• Kolkata (INOX South City Mall), Trivandrum (PVR Lulu Mall)
  
• Surat (Rajhans Cinemas)
   
• Kochi (Cinepolis Centre Square Mall)
  
• Lucknow (INOX Megaplex Phoenix Palassio)
  
• Ahmedabad (PVR Palladium Mall, Thaltej)

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