"Project Hail Mary" is proof.

Based upon the novel of the same name by author Andy Weir (who also wrote "The Martian"), the science fiction film released by Amazon MGM Studios has already grossed more than $600 million worldwide, on a $190 million budget. The film had the highest opening box office revenues so far this year, and the best opening for any Amazon film ever.

In fact, "Project Hail Mary" has enjoyed so much success that its theatrical run has been extended before it goes to streaming. (When was the last time that happened? This only goes to show that audiences will spend the money to go to theaters if they have the chance to watch films that are well made, imaginative, family-friendly and not vehicles for left-wing propaganda or populated with dull characters who are one-dimensional tropes.

The film's main character, Ryland Grace, is a gifted scientist, clearly underemployed as a middle school science teacher (though beloved by his students). As the film opens, Grace awakens from an induced coma to find himself on a spaceship (the "Hail Mary") headed toward the Tau Ceti system, light-years from Earth. Grace's memories are (initially) absent or muddled, and the other astronauts on the ship have died in transit, so the backstory is done via flashbacks, as Grace remembers in bits and pieces how he came to be on the ship and what he is supposed to be doing.

That, of course, is saving the world. Earth's population is threatened by the discovery of an alien life form that humans call the "astrophage," which is consuming the sun's energy. But a distant star in the Tau Ceti system appears to be........

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