Ryan Gosling made a surprise appearance at a New York movie theater on the opening night of his latest big-screen blockbuster, “Project Hail Mary.”

Welcoming a packed audience, Gosling flipped the script on who is responsible for keeping cinemas afloat amid the rise of streaming and falling box office numbers.

“Six years ago, I got the manuscript,” Gosling said, referring to “Project Hail Mary.” “[It’s] the most ambitious thing I’ll ever make; it seemed impossible. It was too good not to give it a shot. Six years later, we did it. Here we are, we’re all back in theaters. It’s not your job to keep them open, it’s our job to make things that make it worth you coming out.”

Gosling’s parting words were, “You’re about to go to another galaxy, make an alien best friend and save the stars. This movie is for you. Enjoy the trip!”

Hollywood has been ringing the alarm bell on the health of movie theaters since the pandemic, as the industry has yet to climb back to the pre-COVID peak of an $11 billion annual domestic box office gross. Still, Gosling knows a thing or two about getting butts back in seats: He starred as Ken in “Barbie,” a blockbuster phenomenon and the highest-grossing film of 2023.

“Project Hail Mary” shattered box office expectations, rocketing to $140.9 million at the global box office in its opening weekend. The haul makes the sci-fi epic the largest debut of 2026 so far (ahead of “Scream 7” with a $97.2 million globally) and the biggest start ever for Amazon MGM (the studio’s previous record was “Creed III” with $100.4 million).

Directed by “21 Jump Street” duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, “Project Hail Mary” follows Gosling as a molecular biologist working as a school teacher who is recruited on a mission to save the planet from a galactic threat. While in space, he befriends a crafty extraterrestrial he names Rocky. The film also stars Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung and Milana Vayntrub.