Night at the Museum (franchise)

Night at the Museum is a mixed live action and computer-animated American media franchise of fantasy-comedy films based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc, are directed by Shawn Levy and written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. Starring Ben Stiller as a museum night security guard named Larry Daley, the first three films also star an ensemble cast featuring Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Patrick Gallagher, Rami Malek, Mizuo Peck, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, and Dick Van Dyke, while the video game and fourth film feature a recast ensemble of voice actors.

Night at the Museum
Franchise logo
Created byMilan Trenc
Original workThe Night at the Museum (Arjun and Mrudula)
Owner20th Century Studios
Print publications
Book(s)
  • The Night at the Museum (1993)
  • Another Night at the Museum (2013)
Novel(s)Night at the Museum: The Junior Novelization (2006)
Films and television
Film(s)
Games
Video game(s)Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Films

Night at the Museum (2006)

When Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), a divorced father who was having trouble finding a job, applies for a job at the American Museum of Natural History, he is assigned as a night guard. However, a seemingly easy job turns out to be a wild ride when he finds that an ancient spell has caused the exhibits of the museum to come to life.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Three years after the previous film, several of the exhibits are transferred to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and Dexter the monkey steals the tablet of Ahkmenrah. Larry must break in and team up with his old friends, and new ally Amelia Earhart, to get it back from Ahkmenrah's resurrected evil older brother Kahmunrah before morning.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)

Five years after the previous film, Larry discovers that the tablet of Ahkmenrah's magic is failing. He and his now-teenage son Nick, along with Teddy Roosevelt, Sacagawea, Jedediah, Octavius, Dexter, Attila the Hun, and a new caveman figure named Laaa (who looks like Larry) travel to the British Museum in London to undo the curse, with the help of Ahkmenrah's parents and the narcissistic Sir Lancelot of Camelot, before the tablet's magic disappears forever.

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again (2022)

In August 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. The project was released as a Disney+ exclusive film, as a production by Walt Disney Pictures.

In October 2020, the movie was officially titled Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. The project is traditionally animated and was scheduled to be released in 2021. The plot centers around Larry's son, Nick, who is hesitant to follow in his father's footsteps as nightwatchman. In addition to Nick and the titular villain, the movie also features returning characters: Jedediah, Octavius, Teddy Roosevelt and Sacagawea with the addition of Joan of Arc. Production began on November 2, 2020. Shawn Levy served as executive producer, but the majority of the original cast were initially not expected to return.

In August 2021, the film was delayed to a 2022 release date. In September 2022, Matt Danner revealed he was directing the film; he previously was the creator and showrunner of the Disney animated show Legend of the Three Caballeros (2018).[1] The film was released on December 9, 2022.[1][2]

Future

Thomas Lennon hinted that another film could be developed and expressed interest in doing another live-action film with Ben Stiller. He added that the animated film "opens up a lot of new possibilities".[3]

Main cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the series.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  C indicates a cameo role.
  •  E indicates an appearance not included in the theatrical cut.
  •  U indicates an uncredited appearance.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
  •  Y indicates a younger version of the character.
Characters Films Video game
Night at the Museum Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum:
Secret of the Tomb
Night at the Museum:
Kahmunrah Rises Again
Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian
2006 2009 2014 2022 2009
Recurring characters
Lawrence "Larry" Daley Ben Stiller Zachary LeviV Ben StillerV
Theodore Roosevelt Robin Williams[lower-alpha 1] Thomas LennonV Mark MoseleyV
Nicholas "Nick" Daley Jake Cherry Skyler Gisondo Joshua BassettV Jake CherryV
Jedediah Owen Wilson Steve ZahnV Dustin LeightonV
Octavius Steve Coogan Jack WhitehallV Dave WittenbergV
Dr. McPhee Ricky Gervais Jamie DemetriouV Ricky GervaisV
Attila Patrick Gallagher Alexander SalamatV Jim CummingsV
Sacagawea Mizuo Peck Kieran SequoiaV Mizuo PeckV
Dexter Crystal the Monkey Dee Bradley BakerV
Easter Island Head Brad GarrettV Kelemete MisipekaV Jim CummingsV
Brad GarrettV
Ahkmenrah Rami Malek Crispin FreemanV
Cecil "C. J." Fredericks Dick Van Dyke Dick Van DykeEC Dick Van Dyke
Percy Hynes WhiteY
Gus Mickey Rooney Mickey RooneyEC Mickey Rooney
Reginald Bill Cobbs Bill CobbsEC Bill Cobbs
Erica Daley Kim Raver Gillian JacobsV
Kahmunrah Hank Azaria Joseph KamalV Marc GraueV
Hank AzariaV
Amelia Earhart / Tess Amy Adams Molly HaganV
Ivan the Terrible Christopher Guest Neil KaplanV
Napoleon Bonaparte Alain Chabat Brian GeorgeV
Al Capone Jon Bernthal André SogliuzzoV
George Armstrong Custer Bill Hader Chad EinbinderV
The Thinker Hank AzariaV Ted BiaselliV
Hank AzariaV
Abraham Lincoln Statue
Cherub Cupid Statues Jonas BrothersV Jonas BrothersV
Able the Space Monkey Crystal the Monkey Dee Bradley BakerV
Albert Einstein Bobbleheads Eugene LevyV Eugene LevyV
Laaa Ben Stiller Zachary LeviV
Merenkahre Ben Kingsley Jonathan RoumieV
Single-film characters
Rebecca Hutman Carla Gugino
Don Paul Rudd
Christopher Columbus Statue Pierfrancesco Favino
Meriwether Lewis Martin Christopher
William Clark Martin Sims
Sailor Joey Motorola Jay Baruchel
Brundon the Security Guard Jonah Hill
Docent Mindy Kaling
Lancelot Dan Stevens
Tilly Rebel Wilson
Shepseheret Anjali Jay
Madeline Phelps Rachael Harris
Garuda Artefact Robin WilliamsV
Hugh Jackman / King Arthur HimselfCU
Alice Eve / Guinevere HerselfCU
Joan of Arc Alice IsaazV
George Washington Chris ParnellV
Seth Akmal SalehV
Ronnie Bowen YangV
Mia Shelby SimmonsV
Bodhi Tenzing Norgay TrainorV
Neanderthal Chad EinbinderV
Sheila Burns Molly HaganV
Billy the Kid Ted BiaselliV
Cleopatra Julie NathansonV
Ben Franklin André SogliuzzoV

Additional crew and production details

Film Director Producer(s) Writer(s) Composer Cinematographer Editor(s) Production companies Distributor
Night at the Museum Shawn Levy Shawn Levy
Chris Columbus
Michael Barnathan
Thomas Lennon
Robert Ben Garant
Alan Silvestri Guillermo Navarro Don Zimmerman 1492 Pictures
20th Century Fox
21 Laps Entertainment
20th Century Fox
Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian
John Schwartzman Don Zimmerman
Dean Zimmerman
1492 Pictures
20th Century Fox
21 Laps Entertainment
Dune Entertainment
Night at the Museum:
Secret of the Tomb
David Guion
Michael Handelman
Guillermo Navarro Dean Zimmerman 1492 Pictures
20th Century Fox
21 Laps Entertainment
TSG Entertainment
Night at the Museum:
Kahmunrah Rises Again
Matt Danner[1] Shawn Levy[4] Ray DeLaurentis
William Schifrin
John Paesano[5] Luc Perrault Walt Disney Pictures[6]
Atomic Cartoons
Alibaba Pictures
21 Laps Entertainment
Disney+

Reception

Box office

Title U.S. release date Budget Box office gross Box office ranking Ref.
Opening weekend
(North America)
North America Other territories Worldwide All time
North America
All time
Worldwide
Night at the Museum December 22, 2006 (2006-12-22) $110 million $30,433,781 $250,863,268 $323,617,961 $574,481,229 #100 #123 [7]
Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian
May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22) $150 million $54,173,286 $177,243,721 $235,862,449 $413,106,170 #221 #220 [8]
Night at the Museum:
Secret of the Tomb
December 19, 2014 (2014-12-19) $127 million $17,100,520 $113,746,621 $249,458,014 $363,204,635 #516 #272 [9]
Totals $387 million $101,707,587 $541,853,610 $808,938,424 $1,350,792,034 [10]

Critical and public response

The franchise has received mixed reviews from critics.

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore[11]
Night at the Museum 43% (136 reviews)[12] 48 (28 reviews)[13] A-
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 45% (167 reviews)[14] 42 (31 reviews)[15] B+
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb 47% (112 reviews)[16] 47 (33 reviews)[17] B+
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again 71% (14 reviews)[18] TBA

Video game

In April and May 2009, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – The Video Game, an action-adventure video game adaptation of the feature film of the same name, developed by Amaze Entertainment and Pipeworks Software, was published by Majesco Entertainment to BlackBerry, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, and Xbox 360.[19] Ben Stiller reprises his role in the film as the voice of Larry Daley.[20]

Stage

In April 2020, Alan Menken revealed that he is working as lyricist and composer for a stage musical adaptation of Night at the Museum.[21] On September 11, 2020, Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy revealed that he is also working on the musical, which has been in development for "a year and a half" by that point.[22] Work on the musical had to be done remotely through Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21]

See also

References

  1. "Matt Danner on Twitter: "Plug time! Keep and eye out for my animated movie coming to Disney+ this December!!! Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again"". Twitter. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  2. Mishra, Shrishty (November 3, 2022). "First 'Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again' Image Teases Nick Daley's Animated Return". Collider. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  3. Crowley, Liam (December 6, 2022). "Thomas Lennon Teases Night at the Museum's Future (Exclusive)". comicbook.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  4. "The Walt Disney Company Investor Day 2020 - THE 2020 INVESTOR DAY PROGRAMMING FACT SHEET" (PDF). Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  5. Schonewill, Kyle; Earle, Robby (March 17, 2022). "What's New in the MCU with John Paesano". Friends From Work: An Unofficial Marvel Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  6. @disneystudios (November 3, 2022). "Check out the first look at Night of the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, coming to @DisneyPlus December 9" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  7. "Night at the Museum (2006)". Box Office Mojo.
  8. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)". Box Office Mojo.
  9. "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)". Box Office Mojo.
  10. "Night at the Museum franchise". boxofficemojo.com. IMDb. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  11. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  12. "Night at the Museum". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  13. "Night at the Museum". metacritic.com. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  14. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  15. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". metacritic.com. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  16. "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  17. "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb". metacritic.com. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  18. "Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  19. IGN Staff (May 13, 2009). "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Available at Retail". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  20. VanOrd, Kevin (May 5, 2009). "Night at the Museum [Battle of the Smithsonian] Review (Wii)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  21. Young Artists of America (March 28, 2020). "Talk Back with Alan Menken (2020)". YouTube. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  22. Carras, Christi (September 11, 2020). "'Night at the Museum' director teases another sequel — and a Broadway musical". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
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