# Night at the Museum
**Night at the Museum** is a 2006 American fantasy-comedy film directed by [Shawn Levy](https://www.edgepedia.org/shawn-levy), in which a newly hired night guard at New York's Museum of Natural History discovers that an ancient Egyptian curse brings the museum's exhibits to life after closing time.[1](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1) [Ben Stiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-stiller) stars as Larry Daley, with [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams) as Theodore Roosevelt, and the film opened in theaters on December 22, 2006, distributed by 20th Century Fox.[1](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/63961)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | December 22, 2006 (theatrical, wide); rated PG; runtime 1h 48min[1](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Shawn Levy; screenplay by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/63961) |
| Source | Based on the 1993 children's picture book *The Night at the Museum* by Croatian illustrator Milan Trenc[3](https://www.hellerbooks.com/pdfs/voice_milan_trenc.pdf) |
| Principal cast | Ben Stiller (Larry Daley), Robin Williams (Teddy Roosevelt), Carla Gugino (Rebecca), Dick Van Dyke (Cecil), Mickey Rooney (Gus), Bill Cobbs (Reginald)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_at_the_museum) |
| Production | Producers Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, and Michael Barnathan; production company Twentieth Century Fox; cinematographer Guillermo Navarro; editor Don Zimmerman[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/63961) |
| Visual effects | A $120-million budget and nearly 500 visual effects, overseen by Jim Rygiel, a three-time Oscar winner for the *Lord of the Rings* films[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-24-ca-museum24-story.html) |
| Reception | Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 43% from 136 reviews, Popcornmeter 67% from more than 250,000 ratings; Metacritic Metascore 48 (mixed or average)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_at_the_museum) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/) |
| Franchise | Sequels in 2009 and 2014, an animated film in 2022, and a reboot with new characters in development at 20th Century Studios[7](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65371166/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Larry Daley, a good-hearted but struggling divorced father, takes a night watchman position at the Museum of Natural History, a job he expects to be ordinary.[1](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1) • [8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/night-at-the-museum) He replaces three retiring guards, Cecil ([Dick Van Dyke](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-van-dyke)), Reginald ([Bill Cobbs](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-cobbs)), and Gus ([Mickey Rooney](https://www.edgepedia.org/mickey-rooney)), who advise him to follow their handwritten instruction manual exactly; when he falls asleep on his first night, he wakes to find the exhibits alive.[8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/night-at-the-museum) The chaos includes a frisky Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, tiny armies of Romans, cowboys, and Mayans, and a mischievous monkey, and Larry must also stop thieves stealing from the museum.[1](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1) • [8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/night-at-the-museum) With guidance from the wax figure of President Teddy Roosevelt, played by Robin Williams, Larry learns to control the nightly chaos.[1](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1)
The magical agent is an ancient Egyptian tablet associated with the pharaoh Ahkmenrah, played by [Rami Malek](https://www.edgepedia.org/rami-malek).[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/) Other featured figures include Attila the Hun (Patrick [Gallagher](https://www.edgepedia.org/gallagher)), the Roman soldier Octavius ([Steve Coogan](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-coogan)), Sacagawea (Mizuo Peck), and Christopher Columbus (Pierfrancesco Favino).[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/)
### Franchise
The film launched a series. *[Night at the Museum](https://www.edgepedia.org/night-at-the-museum-franchise): Battle of the Smithsonian* followed in 2009, set at Washington's Smithsonian Institution, and *Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb* in 2014, which sends Larry and the exhibits to London's British Museum to repair the failing tablet; all three live-action films were directed by Levy.[7](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65371166/) • [14](https://time.com/3637714/night-at-the-museum-3-movie-review/) By the time of the third film, the first two had earned almost $1 billion at the global box office.[14](https://time.com/3637714/night-at-the-museum-3-movie-review/) A fourth entry, the animated *Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again*, directed by Matt Danner, was released on Disney+ on December 9, 2022, with Levy as producer; none of the original live-action cast returned.[7](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65371166/) • [15](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/night_at_the_museum_project_profile_11_68dac683.pdf) • [16](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2000869-new-night-at-the-museum-movie-update-reveals-if-ben-stiller-will-return/xwp_curated_content)
A reimagining is in development at 20th Century Studios, with Levy's company 21 Laps producing and writer Tripper Clancy, whose credits include *Stuber* and *Die Hart*, hired to write a fresh story set at the museum with all-new characters.[7](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65371166/)
## Origin as a picture book
The film adapts *The Night at the Museum*, a 1993 children's picture book written and illustrated by Milan Trenc, a filmmaker and illustrator in Zagreb, Croatia.[3](https://www.hellerbooks.com/pdfs/voice_milan_trenc.pdf) In the book, a brand-new night guard at the New York natural history museum dozes off and discovers that one of the towering dinosaur skeletons he is supposed to protect has wandered away.[9](https://www.emol.org/film/archives/nightatthemuseum/production.html) Levy described the source as a slight but charming book of roughly 25 pages whose premise the film kept: a night guard at New York's Museum of Natural History who finds that everything comes to life after dark.[10](https://www.female.com.au/shawn-levy-night-at-the-museum-interview.htm) In 2007 the film script was published as a young adult novel by Leslie Goldman, and Trenc wrote a second picture book, *Another Night at the Museum*, in 2013.[11](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/4641939)
## Production and visual effects
**Building the museum.** The production used New York's recognizable museum facade for exteriors but built the interior from scratch on a giant soundstage at Mammoth Studios in Vancouver, since the story's mayhem could not be staged among real artifacts.[12](https://robin-williams.net/pn/museum.php) Production designer Claude Paré created a set of exhibits spanning ancient Egyptian temples to Western cowboy scenes, matching the museum's big arched windows for exterior-to-interior continuity; the Ocean Life Hall was a digital composite of an exhibit at the real New York museum.[12](https://robin-williams.net/pn/museum.php)
**Effects work.** The film carried a $120-million budget and nearly 500 visual effects, supervised by Jim Rygiel.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-24-ca-museum24-story.html) Levy, who had never headed a production this digitally driven, was initially nervous about the intensive computer graphics and relied on extensive storyboarding.[12](https://robin-williams.net/pn/museum.php) Rhythm & Hues created the photo-real lion that chases Larry out of the African Mammals hall, and used Massive 3D animation software on more than 30 shots.[12](https://robin-williams.net/pn/museum.php) • [13](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/Web-Exclusives/2007/Night-at-the-Museum-Brought-to-Life.aspx) For the diorama armies, the team built 89 base models expanded into several hundred computer variations, matched to real actors shot in action sequences; the scale mismatch between diorama photography and human green-screen work required careful planning, since a two-foot camera move in the diorama world translated to 48 feet on stage.[12](https://robin-williams.net/pn/museum.php)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. The film scored 43% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer against 67% from audiences on the Popcornmeter, and a Metascore of 48, labeled mixed or average, from 28 critic reviews.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_at_the_museum) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/) Positive notices credited the cast and effects: the Miami Herald called it "wonderfully energetic," and the Washington Post praised the payoff that "history turns out to be way cooler than its reputation suggests."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/) Critics who objected pointed to pacing and a thin story; Common Sense Media's review found the film "mostly cute if often frantic" and said it "runs out of story early."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/) • [8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/night-at-the-museum) The film grossed $250,863,268 in the United States and Canada.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_at_the_museum) • [17](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Night-at-the-Museum)
## References
1. [Night at the Museum, 20th Century Studios Family](https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/night-at-the-museum-1)
2. [Night at the Museum (2006), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/63961)
3. [Interview with Milan Trenc, Heller Gallery/Heller Books PDF](https://www.hellerbooks.com/pdfs/voice_milan_trenc.pdf)
4. [Night at the Museum, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_at_the_museum)
5. [A cast of hundreds of special effects, Los Angeles Times (December 24, 2006)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-24-ca-museum24-story.html)
6. [Night at the Museum, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-at-the-museum/)
7. ['Night at the Museum' Reboot in the Works, Variety via IMDb News](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65371166/)
8. [Night at the Museum, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/night-at-the-museum)
9. [Night at the Museum production notes, emol.org](https://www.emol.org/film/archives/nightatthemuseum/production.html)
10. [Shawn Levy Night at the Museum Interview, Female.com.au](https://www.female.com.au/shawn-levy-night-at-the-museum-interview.htm)
11. [Rewriting study of Night at the Museum across media, DergiPark](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/4641939)
12. [Night at the Museum (2006) production notes, Robin Williams.net](https://robin-williams.net/pn/museum.php)
13. [Night at the Museum Brought to Life, Computer Graphics World (2007)](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/Web-Exclusives/2007/Night-at-the-Museum-Brought-to-Life.aspx)
14. [Review: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Time (2014)](https://time.com/3637714/night-at-the-museum-3-movie-review/)
15. [Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again project profile, Disney/20th Century](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/night_at_the_museum_project_profile_11_68dac683.pdf)
16. [New Night at the Museum Movie Update Reveals if Ben Stiller Will Return, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2000869-new-night-at-the-museum-movie-update-reveals-if-ben-stiller-will-return/xwp_curated_content)
17. [Night at the Museum (2006) - Box Office and Financial Information](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Night-at-the-Museum)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license