‘Project Hail Mary’ becomes first movie ever to display IMAX trailer in outer space
Aliens can now get a glimpse of what’s screening at your local movie theatre, after production team Sent into Space collaborated with IMAX® and distributor Sony Pictures UK to play a film trailer that’s literally out of this world!
To promote the release of Amazon MGM Studios' film Project Hail Mary (2026), the trio created a bespoke IMAX display unit that could play the film’s trailer under extreme conditions, and launched it into the stratosphere above Sheffield, UK on 14 March.
After an hour-long voyage, the display executed a full content play-through miles above Earth, and set the Guinness World Records title for the highest altitude IMAX film trailer at a dizzying 101,896 ft (31,058 m).
And in honour of the success of this groundbreaking production, this weekend Project Hail Mary directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller joined Guinness World Records Adjudicator Michael Empric for an incredible award ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
While there, they revealed the results of all their hard work, and underscored how the film’s stunning scale was enhanced by the use of IMAX’s exclusive 1.43:1 Expanded Aspect Ratio (EAR).
“We’re thrilled to have helped Amazon MGM Studios' Project Hail Mary secure such an ambitious Guinness World Records title,” said a spokesperson for Sent into Space. “Several members of the Sent Into Space team were already big fans of the Project Hail Mary novel, so to have earned our first-ever world record by promoting its big-screen adaptation made the occasion all the more special.
“Many thanks to everyone at Sony Pictures UK and IMAX for entrusting us with their lofty ambitions, and we hope that sci-fi fans everywhere enjoyed watching the spaceflight as much as we did engineering it.”
Read more stories about record-breaking films in our dedicated Arts and Entertainment section!
Just like their record-breaking trailer, Project Hail Mary was filmed for IMAX, as the Academy Award® winning directors were determined to give audiences an immersive experience through their travels in outer space.
In the film, science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
And throughout early camera tests, all the way to post-production, the production crew made specific creative and technical decisions to deliver a movie that is meant to be seen in IMAX’s Expanded Aspect Ratio, giving their audiences more picture, scale and immersion than anywhere else.
“What better way to launch the latest space blockbuster than with a stratospheric record attempt?” said Adam Millward at GWR. “This was an incredible feat, and amazing to watch.
“There is also no doubting the engineering expertise that a feat like this entails so all hail the brainy folks at Sent Into Space, too!”
So congratulations to everyone that took part in this officially “amaze, amaze, amaze”-ing record attempt – we can’t wait to see what new heights the film industry reaches next!