Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

• Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, a former security guard turned CEO of Daley Devices.
• Ricky Gervais as Dr. McPhee, the curator at the Museum of Natural History.
• 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

• Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt, the wax statue of the 26th President of the United States
  • Williams also voices the bronze bust of Theodore Roosevelt.
• Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, the first woman who flew across the Atlantic Ocean, and Larry's love interest
  • Adams also portrays Tess, a woman touring the museum, who looks like Amelia Earhart
• Owen Wilson as Jedediah, a cowboy minifigure.
• Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah, a pharaoh who is the evil and sinister older brother of Ahkmenrah.
  • Azaria also voices The Thinker, a famous artwork and Abraham Lincoln, an statue of the 16th President of the United States.
• 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.
• Steve Coogan as Octavius, a Roman soldier minifigure.
• Mizuo Peck as Sacagawea, the polyurethane model of the Lemhi Shoshone woman who is Theodore Roosevelt's girlfriend.
• Bill Hader as George Armstrong Custer, a military figure who Larry befriends.
• Rami Malek as Ahkmenrah, a mummy of a pharaoh who is the benevolent younger brother of Kahmunrah.
• Patrick Gallagher as Attila the Hun
• 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 Muppet character that tries to ally with Kahmunrah only to be dismissed because Kahmunrah classified him as "vaguely grouchy." This was his last film before his retirement in 2018 and death in 2019.
• Thomas Morley as Darth Vader, the famous Star Wars character that tries to ally with Kahmunrah only to be turned away because he was "dark."[2]

• Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
• Crying Girl
• American Gothic
• LOVE (sculpture)
• V-J Day in Times Square
• Nighthawks
• The Thinker
• Orange Balloon Dog

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 movie were on display at Smithsonian Museums along the National Mall. Many of the artifacts are labeled with "Night at the Museum" logos.[5]

• National Air and Space Museum

1. Able the space monkey
2. Lunar rover
3. Lunar Module
4. 1903 Wright Flyer
5. Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega
6. Medal belonging to Tuskegee Airmen
7. Supermarine Spitfire
8. F-104 Starfighter

• Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

1. Messerschmitt 262

• National Museum of Natural History

1. Gigantic octopus
2. Moai
3. Tyrannosaurus

• National Museum of American History

1. Oscar the Grouch puppet
2. George Armstrong Custer's fringed jacket
3. Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves
4. Theodore Roosevelt's chaps
5. Archie Bunker's chair from the television sitcom All in the Family
6. Theodore Roosevelt's teddy bear
7. Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz

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

Varèse Sarabande issued the score on May 19, 2009.[8]

All tracks are written by Alan Silvestri.

Additional Music

1. "Let's Groove" - performed by Earth, Wind & Fire; used in part during final museum scene before the end credits.
2. "My Heart Will Go On" - performed by Celine Dion is sung by cherubs as Larry confess their love with Amelia.

Sample credits[9]

• "Museum Open Late" incorporates excerpt of "Life in Technicolor" written by Coldplay

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]

Like its predecessor, the sequel has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 45% "rotten" approval rating, based on 168 reviews, with an average score of 5.17/10. 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".[16] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 42 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

Despite mixed reviews from critics, most 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."[18] 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."[19] Also, many reviews noted the costume worn by Amy Adams during the movie.[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 panned the movie on its excessive use of special effects as noted by Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club 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 claiming "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]