Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian
Theatrical release poster
Directed byShawn Levy
Written by
Based onCharacters created by
Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon
The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn Schwartzman
Edited by
Music byAlan Silvestri
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150 million
Box office$413.1 million

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (also known as Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian or just Night at the Museum 2) is a 2009 American fantasy comedy film written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, produced by Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Shawn Levy and directed by Levy. The film stars Ben Stiller in the lead role, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Jon Bernthal, Rami Malek, and Robin Williams. It is the second installment in the Night at the Museum series, following of Night at the Museum (2006). The film was released theatrically on May 22, 2009 by 20th Century Fox. Like its predecessor, it received mixed reviews and became a box office success, grossing $413 million on a $150 million budget.

A live-action sequel, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was released on December 19, 2014, and an animated sequel, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, was released on the streaming service Disney+ in 2022.

Plot

Three years after the events of the first film, Larry Daley has left his job as night guard at the American Museum of Natural History to start a company selling his own inventions on direct response television. He visits the museum and learns most of the exhibits will be moved to the Smithsonian Institution archives and replaced with holographic displays, but the Tablet of Ahkmenrah will stay behind, leaving the departing exhibits without the ability to come to life at night.

Later, Larry receives a panicked phone call from miniature cowboy Jedediah, who explains that Dexter the monkey brought the tablet to the Smithsonian, where they are under attack by Ahkmenrah's older brother Kahmunrah. Larry travels to Washington, DC and poses as a night guard to sneak into the archives, where he finds his friends trapped by Kahmunrah, who plans to use the tablet's powers to conquer the world.

Aided by General George A. Custer, who is captured, Larry is joined by Amelia Earhart. They evade Kahmunrah's soldiers inside the photograph of V-J Day in Times Square, leading Kahmunrah to enlist Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Al Capone to retrieve the tablet. Larry is captured, but when the tablet fails to open the Gate of the Underworld, Kahmunrah traps Jedediah in an hourglass and gives Larry one hour to decipher the tablet's combination.

Amelia has fallen in love with Larry, and the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial mistakes them for a couple as they reach the National Air and Space Museum. They encounter various figures from the history of flight, including the Wright brothers, a squadron of Tuskegee Airmen, and Able the space monkey, while a group of Albert Einstein bobbleheads explain that the combination is the value of pi. Napoleon, Ivan, and Capone's troops arrive, prompting Larry and Amelia to escape in the Wright Flyer.

They crash into the Smithsonian, where Kahmunrah uses the combination to open the gate and summon an army of Horus warriors. Miniature Roman general Octavius arrives with the statue of Lincoln, frightening the warriors back to the Underworld, and Amelia gathers an army of allies including Larry's friends and Custer, leading to a climactic battle. Larry helps Custer overcome his fear of repeating the Battle of Little Big Horn, while Octavius rescues Jedediah, and Larry recovers the tablet and turns Capone, Bonaparte, and Ivan against each other. Armed with his flashlight, Larry duels a khopesh-wielding Kahmunrah as Amelia reopens the gate, allowing Larry to banish Kahmunrah to the Underworld.

Flying Larry and the New York exhibits home, Amelia reveals that she knows she is only a wax figure of the real aviator, and she and Larry share a kiss before she takes off back to the Smithsonian. Two months later, Larry has sold his company and made an anonymous donation to renovate the Natural History Museum and extend its nighttime visiting hours when the exhibits are alive; believed to be animatronics and hired reenactors, the exhibits are now able to interact with visitors at night. Back in his old job as night guard, Larry hits it off with a visitor named Tess, who bears a striking resemblance to Amelia.

Cast

Owen Wilson, Amy Adams and Ben Stiller at a panel for the film in May 2009.

Humans

Exhibits

Production

Development

Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon confirmed to Dark Horizons that they were writing a sequel to Night at the Museum, originally with the tentative title Another Night at the Museum. The writers said that "there'll be existing characters and plenty of new ones."

20th Century Fox announced that the sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, would be released during Memorial Day weekend in 2009. Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Patrick Gallagher, Jake Cherry, Rami Malek, Mizuo Peck, Brad Garrett and Robin Williams would return for the sequel, with Shawn Levy returning as director.

Filming

The film was mostly filmed in Vancouver and Montreal with some scenes filmed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. A scene was shot at the Lincoln Memorial on the night of May 21, 2008. Scenes were also shot at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on August 18 and 20, 2008.

The trailer was released with Bedtime Stories, Yes Man and Marley & Me in December 2008. The trailer accompanied the film Bride Wars in January, The Pink Panther 2 in February, and Dragonball Evolution in April 2009. The film was also promoted as an opening skit on American Idol, where a replica of the Idol judge seats are being held at the real Smithsonian Institution.

An alternate ending included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases featured the return of Dick Van Dyke as Cecil Fredericks, Bill Cobbs as Reginald, and Mickey Rooney as Gus.

Night at the Museum label on the Wright Flyer exhibit in the National Air and Space Museum.

Filmmakers loaned the Smithsonian Institution props used in the movie which were displayed in the Smithsonian Castle including the pile of artifacts featured in the film. The Smithsonian also made a brochure available online and at museum visitor service desks outlining where to find artifacts.

As of 2009, numerous artifacts which inspired the film were on display at Smithsonian Museums along the National Mall. Many of the artifacts are labeled with "Night at the Museum" logos. Gift shops at the Smithsonian also sell a replica of the Einstein Bobble-head, created specifically as a tie-in to the film.

Music

Alan Silvestri returned to score the sequel.

Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
Alan Silvestri
Released19 May 2009 (2009-05-19)
Recorded2008
GenreFilm score
Length49:51
LabelVarèse Sarabande

Varèse Sarabande issued the score on May 19, 2009.

All tracks are written by Alan Silvestri

Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleLength
1."Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"02:38
2."Daley Devices"00:36
3."This Night is Their Last"04:35
4."To Washington"00:37
5."Getting Past Security"01:49
6."Finding Jed and the Others"03:16
7."I Have Come Back to Life"01:04
8."The Tablet"03:25
9."I Smell Adventure"04:31
10."He Doesn't Have All Night"01:46
11."The Adventure Continues"03:25
12."Octavius Attacks"01:22
13."Entering the Air & Space Museum"01:32
14."Escape in Wright Flyer"03:29
15."Got the Combination"02:19
16."Gate to the Underworld"01:02
17."I Ride the Squirrel"01:25
18."On Your Toes"01:54
19."The Battle"01:44
20."Divide the House"01:28
21."Victory is Ours"01:19
22."Goodbye"02:43
23."Museum Open Late"02:02
Total length:49:51

Additional Music

  1. "More Than a Woman" (by Bee Gees) – performed by the Jonas Brothers as the cherubs as Larry and Amelia hide from Napoleon's army.
  2. "My Heart Will Go On" (by Celine Dion) – performed by the Jonas Brothers as the cherubs after Larry and Amelia' kiss.
  3. "Lovebug" – performed by the Jonas Brothers as the cherubs after Larry and Amelia' kiss.
  4. "Let's Groove" – performed by Earth, Wind & Fire; used in part during final scene before the end credits.
  5. "Fly with Me" – performed by the Jonas Brothers; used in the end credits.
Sample credits

Release

Theatrical

A trailer of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was released on December 19, 2008. The film released on May 22, 2009 in United States.

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 1, 2009.

Reception

Box office

At the end of its box office run, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian earned a gross of $177 million in North America and $236 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $413 million against a budget of $150 million.

On Friday, May 22, 2009, its opening day, the film's estimated gross was $16 million, for second day the film grossed $20 million and for third day the gross was $19 million, coming in ahead of Terminator Salvation (which released on Thursday) in 4,096 theaters at No. 1, reaching up to $54.1 million, with a $13,226 per-theater average over the Memorial Day weekend. By comparison, Night at the Museum reached up to $30 million on its opening weekend in December 2006. For its second weekend, the film grossed $24.35 million, for third weekend $14.6 million.

For the opening weekend of May 22, 2009 the film grossed $49 million while playing in theaters of 56 territories; the film debuted in UK ($6.6 million), Russia ($5.23 million) and France ($5.05 million). The largest market in other territories being UK, Japan, Germany, Australia and France where the film grossed $32.8 million, $21.49 million, $18.78 million, $14.03 million and $13.3 million. The film exhibited at 160 IMAX screens and contributing $5.4 million of the gross. The top grossing IMAX venue was the Smithsonian.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 44% approval rating, based on 168 reviews, with an average score of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian is busy enough to keep the kids interested but the slapstick goes overboard and the special effects (however well executed) throw the production into mania". Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Critics praised Amy Adams' and Hank Azaria's performances. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film 3 stars stating that "[Adams]'s terrific -- a sparkling screen presence." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ stating "Battle of the Smithsonian has plenty of life. But it's Adams who gives it zing." Perry Seibert of TV Guide gave the film 2 stars despite honoring that "thanks to Azaria, a master of comic timing. His grandiose, yet slightly fey bad guy is equally funny when he's chewing out minions as he is when deliberating if Oscar the Grouch and Darth Vader are evil enough to join his team. Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter and A.O. Scott of The New York Times enjoyed both performances.

One critic, Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club, panned the movie for its excessive use of special effects when he described the film as "a baffling master plot and a crowded pileup of special effects in search of something to do." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times awarded the film 1½ stars out of 4 saying "its premise is lame, its plot relentlessly predictable, its characters with personalities that would distinguish picture books."

In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
Year Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2009 Teen Choice Award Choice Comedy Movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Won
Choice Comedy Movie Actor Ben Stiller Nominated
Choice Comedy Movie Actress Amy Adams Nominated
Choice Movie Villain Hank Azaria Nominated
2010 MTV Movie Award Best Comedic Performance Ben Stiller Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite Family Movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture Ian Hunter, Forest Fischer, Robert Chapin, Tony Chen for the "National Air and Space Museum Escape" Nominated

Video game

The video game based on the film was released on May 5, 2009. It was fairly well received in comparison to the majority of film-based video-games, netting a 7.5 out of 10 from IGN.com.

Sequels

Ben Stiller admitted that a sequel was "a possibility" and on January 21, 2010, co-writer Thomas Lennon said to Access Hollywood, "That after the success of two Night at the Museum films, it's no surprise that 20th Century Fox is looking to develop a third and that those suspicions are indeed true and how could you not? I think it's a really outstanding idea to do Night at the Museum 3, in fact," he said. "I wonder if someone's not even already working on a script for that," he added with a raised eyebrow. "I cannot confirm that for a fact, but I cannot deny it for a fact either... It might be in the works." In an interview, Stiller confirmed the sequel, however, he said that it was only in the "ideas stage".

It was announced in February 2013 that the film, directed by Shawn Levy, would be released on December 25, 2014. On September 10, 2013, it was announced that shooting would start in February 2014. On November 8, 2013, English actor Dan Stevens was cast as Sir Lancelot. On November 15, 2013, it was announced Skyler Gisondo would be replacing Jake Cherry for the role of Nicky Daley. On December 18, 2013 it was announced that Robin Williams, Stiller, and Ricky Gervais would be returning for the sequel. On January 9, 2014, it was announced that Rebel Wilson would play a security guard in the British Museum. On January 14, 2014, the film's release date was moved up from December 25, 2014, to December 19, 2014. On January 23, 2014, it was announced Ben Kingsley would play an Egyptian Pharaoh at the British Museum. Principal photography and production began on January 27, 2014. In May 2014, principal photography ended.

On August 6, 2019, following the purchase of 21st Century Fox and its assets by The Walt Disney Company, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a fully animated sequel of Night at the Museum was in development. Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again was released on December 9, 2022 on streaming service Disney+.

See also


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