Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

• Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, a night security guard and Amelia’s love interest.
• Ricky Gervais as Dr. McPhee, the curator at the Museum of Natural History and Larry's boss.
• Jake Cherry as Nick Daley, the son of Larry Daley.
• Amy Adams as Tess, a young woman at the end of the movie who looks like Amelia Earhart.
• Mindy Kaling as Docent
• George Foreman as Himself
• Shawn Levy as Infomercial Father
• Ed Helms as Ed, Larry Daley's assistant
• Jonah Hill as Brandon (pronounced "Brundon"), a security guard at the Smithsonian (uncredited)

• Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt, the wax statue of the 26th President of the United States.
  • Williams also voices the bronze bust of Roosevelt.
• Mizuo Peck as Sacagawea, the polyurethane model of the Lemhi Shoshone woman who is Roosevelt's girlfriend.
• Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, and Larry's love interest.
• Owen Wilson as Jedediah, a cowboy minifigure.
• Steve Coogan as Octavius, a Roman soldier minifigure and Jedediah's best friend.
• Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah, a pharaoh who is Ahkmenrah's older brother.
  • Azaria also voices The Thinker, a famous statue and Abraham Lincoln, a statue of the 16th President of the United States.
• Rami Malek as Ahkmenrah, a mummy of a pharaoh who is the benevolent younger brother of Kahmunrah.
• Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible, the historic Tsar of Russia who allies with Kahmunrah.
• Alain Chabat as Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of the First French Empire who allies with Kahmunrah.
• Jon Bernthal as young Al Capone, a photographic standee of the gangster and founder of the Chicago Outfit who allies with Kahmunrah.
• Bill Hader as George Armstrong Custer, a military figure who Larry befriends.
• Patrick Gallagher as a wax model of Attila the Hun, the statue of the leader of the Huns.
• Brad Garrett as Easter Island Head (voice)
• Kerry van der Griend as Neanderthal #1
• Matthew Harrison as Neanderthal #2
• Rick Dobran as Neanderthal #3
• Randy Lee as Hun #1
• Darryl Quon as Hun #2
• Gerald Wong as Hun #3
• Paul Chih-Ping Cheng as Hun #4
• Jonas Brothers as the Cherubs
• Jay Baruchel as Joey Motorola, a sailor who resides in the V-J Day in Times Square photograph.
• Alberta Mayne as Greta Zimmer Friedman (Kissing Nurse)
• Eugene Levy as Albert Einstein Bobbleheads
• Keith Powell as Tuskegee Airman #1
• Craig Robinson as Tuskegee Airman #2
• Clint Howard as Air and Space Mission Control Tech #1
• Matty Finochio as Air and Space Mission Control Tech #2
• Thomas Lennon as Orville Wright
• Robert Ben Garant as Wilbur Wright
• Caroll Spinney as Oscar the Grouch, the famous Sesame Street character that tries to ally with Kahmunrah only to be dismissed because he classified him as "vaguely grouchy."
• Thomas Morley as Darth Vader, the famous Star Wars character that tries to ally with Kahmunrah only to be turned away because he classified him as "dark."[2]

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.

The film was mostly filmed in Vancouver and Montreal with some scenes filmed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.[3] 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.[4] The Smithsonian also made a brochure available online and at museum visitor service desks outlining where to find artifacts.[5]

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.[5] Gift shops at the Smithsonian also sell a replica of the Einstein Bobble-head, created specifically as a tie-in to the film.

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.[1]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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).[14] 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.[15] The film exhibited at 160 IMAX screens and contributing $5.4 million of the gross. The top grossing IMAX venue was the Smithsonian.[16]

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".[17] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18]

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."[19] 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."[20] 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.[21] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter and A.O. Scott of The New York Times enjoyed both performances.[22][23]

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."[24] 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."[25]

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.[26][27]