Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
File:Night at the Museum Secret of the Tomb poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Shawn Levy
Produced by	Shawn Levy Chris Columbus Mark Radcliffe
Screenplay by	David Guion Michael Handelman
Story by	Mark Friedman David Guion Michael Handelman
Based on	Characters by Thomas Lennon Robert Ben Garant
Starring	Ben Stiller Robin Williams Owen Wilson Steve Coogan Dan Stevens Rebel Wilson Ben Kingsley Rami Malek
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Guillermo Navarro
Edited by	Dean Zimmerman
Production company	21 Laps Entertainment 1492 Pictures TSG Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	December 11, 2014 (2014-12-11) (Ziegfeld Theatre) December 19, 2014 (2014-12-19) (United States)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$127 million
Box office	$363.2 million

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is a 2014 American comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by David Guion and Michael Handelman. It is the sequel to the 2006 film Night at the Museum and the 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. The film stars Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Dan Stevens and Ben Kingsley. It is the third and final installment of the Night at the Museum trilogy.

In Secret of the Tomb, security guard Larry Daley must travel to London to return the tablet of Ahkmenrah, an Egyptian artifact which causes the exhibits to come to life, before the magic disappears. The film premiered on December 11, 2014 at New York City's Ziegfeld Theater and was released in the United States on December 19, 2014. Secret of the Tomb grossed over $363 million at the box office. The film is dedicated to Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams, both of whom died months after the film's principal photography ended.

Plot

In 1938 Egypt, a team of archaeologists is searching for a tomb and its treasure. The team leader's young son (Percy Hynes-White) falls into it, calling to his father and the team; they discover a significant artifact, the tablet of Ahkmenrah. The locals warn them that if they remove the tablet, "the end will come".

In present-day New York City, night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) and his favorite exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History, Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Sacagawea (Mizuo Peck), Dexter the Monkey (Crystal the Monkey), miniatures Jed (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan), and Pharaoh Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek), which come to life every night, are hosting the reopening of the Hayden Planetarium. The museum has a new wax figure Neanderthal resembling Larry named Laaa (Ben Stiller). Ahkmenrah shows Larry that his tablet is corroding, which has adverse effects on the exhibits: they go berserk during the event, causing panic. Larry scolds the exhibits and goes home to find his son Nicky (Skyler Gisondo) throwing a party. Nicky isn't so sure about college and wants to take a year off to plan his own future.

Larry discovers that former night watchman Cecil Fredericks (Dick Van Dyke) was the boy who found the tablet in 1938. Larry reunites with Cecil and tells him the tablet is deteriorating. Cecil realizes that the locals' warning that "the end will come” meant that the tablet's magic would end. He mentions that Ahkmenrah's parents were sent to the British Museum. Larry, recalling that Ahkmenrah said his father knew the tablet's secrets, knows he must speak with them and persuades a now-unemployed Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) to let him take Ahkmenrah and his tablet to London.

Larry and Nicky travel to the museum, and the security guard Tilly (Rebel Wilson) lets them in. When Larry enters, he sees his exhibit friends also came along. Laaa is instructed to stand guard while the others search for Ahkmenrah's parents. They encounter a Triceratops skeleton and a Xiangliu statue along the way, but a deluded wax figure replica of Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens) helps them fight off both exhibits. Meanwhile, Jed and Octavius fall into a ventilation shaft, landing in a Pompeii exhibit just before the model of the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupts. Dexter, whom Larry sent to find them, appears and stops the volcano's flow to save them.

The gang finds Ahkmenrah’s parents; and his father, Merenkahre (Ben Kingsley), reveals the tablet was meant to keep his family together forever and is endowed with the power of Khonsu, God of the Moon, and needs frequent exposure to moonlight to retain its magic; otherwise, it will die, and so will the exhibits. Lancelot steals the tablet, then leaves for Camelot. The gang tries to stop him from escaping, but Tilly catches Larry and Laaa and locks them in the employee break room until Laaa head-butts the door open. The gang leaves the museum to search for Lancelot while Laaa stays behind to keep Tilly in her booth, during which, they become attracted to each other. The Trafalgar Square lion statues corner them; Larry distracts the statues with his flashlight and the search continues.

They catch up with Lancelot at a Camelot musical, starring Hugh Jackman as King Arthur and Alice Eve as Guinevere, chasing him to the roof. By now, the New York exhibits are dying. Lancelot then sees that the quest was about them and gives the tablet back. Larry readjusts it, and the moon restores it, reviving the exhibits. Back at the museum, the New York exhibits decide that Ahkmenrah belongs there with his family and should keep the tablet with him, even though that means they will no longer come to life at night. Lancelot has tamed the Triceratops skeleton from earlier, and Larry tells Tilly that tomorrow night she will have the best job ever. After returning to New York, Larry spends a final few moments with the exhibits before sunrise.

Three years later, Larry has gone on to become a teacher, and a traveling British Museum exhibition comes to the museum. Tilly gives the tablet to Dr. McPhee, who was reinstated after Larry took the blame for the chaos at the Hayden Planetarium reopening. She shows him that all the exhibits have come to life because of the tablet's power and are partying in the museum. Larry looks at the party lights in the museum from across the street and smiles.

Cast

• Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, a security guard at the American Museum of Natural History.
  • Stiller also plays Laaa, a Neanderthal who resembles Larry.
• Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt, the wax statue of the 26th President of the United States.
• Owen Wilson as Jedediah, a cowboy diorama miniature.
• Steve Coogan as Octavius, a Roman soldier miniature.
• Ricky Gervais as Dr. McPhee, the director of the Museum of Natural History.
• Rachael Harris as Madeline Phelps, the chairwoman of the American Museum of Natural History.
• Dan Stevens as Sir Lancelot, the wax statue of the legendary Knight of the Round Table.
• Rebel Wilson as Tilly, the night security guard at the British Museum.
• Skyler Gisondo as Nicky Daley, the son of Larry Daley. He was previously played by Jake Cherry in the first two films.
• Rami Malek as Ahkmenrah, the mummy of an ancient pharaoh.
• Patrick Gallagher as Attila the Hun, the statue of the leader of the Huns.
• Mizuo Peck as Sacagawea, the Lemhi Shoshone woman who is Theodore Roosevelt's girlfriend.
• Ben Kingsley as Merenkahre, a pharaoh and Ahkmenrah's father.
• Dick Van Dyke as Cecil "C.J." Fredericks, a retired security guard from the first movie.
  • Percy Hynes-White as Young Cecil "C.J." Fredericks
• Mickey Rooney as Gus, a retired security guard from the first movie.
• Bill Cobbs as Reginald, a retired security guard from the first movie.
• Andrea Martin as Rose, an archivist at the Museum of Natural History.
• Brennan Elliott as Robert Fredericks, Cecil Fredericks' father in the prologue.
• Matt Frewer as Archibald Stanley, an archeologist who accompanies Robert and Cecil in the prologue.
• Kerry van der Griend as Neanderthal #1
• Matthew Harrison as Neanderthal #2
• Jody Racicot as Neanderthal #3
• Randy Lee as Hun #1
• Darryl Quon as Hun #2
• Paul Chih-Ping Cheng as Hun #3
• Gerald Wong as Hun #4
• Anjali Jay as Shepseheret, the Great Royal Wife of Merenkahre and mother of Ahkmenrah.
• Matty Finochio as Roman Sentry
• Louriza Tronco as Andrea, a girl at Nicky's party.
• Hugh Jackman (uncredited) as himself.
• Alice Eve (uncredited) as herself.
• Crystal the Monkey as Dexter, a Capuchin monkey.

Voices

• Robin Williams as Garuda Artifact.
• Brad Garrett as Easter Island Head.
• Regina Taufen as New York Reporter.

Production

On January 21, 2010, co-writer Thomas Lennon said to Access Hollywood, "I think it's a really outstanding idea to do Night at the Museum 3, in fact. I wonder if someone's not even already working on a script for that. I cannot confirm that for a fact, but I cannot deny it for a fact either... It might be in the works." In an October 2011 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stiller confirmed the sequel, however, he said that it was only in the "ideas stage". In February 2013 it was announced 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, actor Dan Stevens was cast as Lancelot. On November 15, 2013, it was announced that Skyler Gisondo would be replacing Jake Cherry in the role of Nicky Daley. On December 18, 2013, it was announced that Stiller, Robin Williams, 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. On May 6, 2014, it was announced that the film would be titled Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. In May 2014, principal photography ended.

Music

Alan Silvestri returns to score the final installment of the trilogy.

Night At the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by Alan Silvestri
Released	January 6, 2015 (2015-01-06)
Recorded	2014
Genre	Film score
Length	56:52
Label	Varese Sarabande

Track listing

Varese Sarabande released a soundtrack album of the score on January 6, 2015.

All songs written and composed by Alan Silvestri. 

Night At the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Ahkmenrah Expedition"	3:34
2.	"Performance Prep"	2:02
3.	"LOL"	2:22
4.	"The Grand Re-Opening"	3:13
5.	"The End Will Come"	2:19
6.	"Sneak And Greet"	3:25
7.	"Sir Lancelot"	3:33
8.	"Where Are Jed And Octavius?"	2:50
9.	"Main Hall"	3:24
10.	"Xiangliu"	3:46
11.	"Male Bonding"	2:15
12.	"The Legend Of The Tablet"	3:11
13.	"The Escher Fight"	3:45
14.	"Camelot"	3:49
15.	"The Quest"	2:35
16.	"Seeing Your Boy Become A Man"	3:14
17.	"Laaa Love"	1:53
18.	"A Farewell Kiss"	2:40
19.	"Teddy's Goodbye"	3:02
Total length:		56:52

Release

The film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on December 11, 2014. It was then released on December 19, 2014 in the United States.

Box office

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb grossed $113.7 million in North America, and $249.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $363.2 million against a budget of $127 million.

In North America, early analysts were predicting a potential $25–$28 million opening. In North America, the film was released on December 19, 2014 across 3,785 theaters. It opened Friday, December 19, 2014 and earned $5.6 million on its opening day, placing at number three at the box office. The film underperformed expectations during its opening weekend, earning $17.1 million, which was relatively lower than the openings of the original film ($30.4 million) and its sequel ($54.1 million). The film debuted at number two at the box office behind The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. According to 20th Century Fox, the movie's audience was 51% male, with 54% of the audience under the age of 25. In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+", on an A+ to F scale.

The film began its international rollout the same weekend as the North American premiere and earned $10.4 million from 27 markets in its opening weekend, debuting at #3 behind at the box office behind The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Penguins of Madagascar. The film expanded to an additional 40 markets in its second week and grossed $31.2 million. It topped the box office outside North America in its fourth weekend with a total gross of $46.2 million, primarily because of China, where it opened at #1 with $26 million. The other highest opening figures were from Mexico ($5.85 million), Brazil ($3.1 million), Malaysia ($3.07 million), the UK ($3 million), Australia ($2.8 million), Germany ($2.1 million) and Singapore ($2 million).

For the weekend of January 16, 2015, the film grossed $17.8 million, which includes a $3.9 million debut in South Korea.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 50% approval rating, based on 100 reviews, with an average score of 5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While not without its moments, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is a less-than-inspired sendoff for the trilogy." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Scott Foundas of Variety gave the film a positive review, praising the visual effects and calling the production values "topnotch", and admiring Guillermo Navarro's work. He added, "A most enjoyable capper to director Shawn Levy and producer Chris Columbus’ cheerfully silly and sneakily smart family-entertainment juggernaut... offers little in the way of secrets of surprises, but should add much holiday cheer to Fox’s box-office coffers." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three stars out of five and said, "The third part in what absolutely no one is calling the Night at the Museum 'trilogy' turns out to be a good-natured and entertainingly surreal panto fantasy." Glenn Kenny awarded the film 2½ stars out of 4 praising the Indiana Jones themed-set while criticizing the performances of the cast and said, "As talent-packed as any Night at the Museum picture may be—in this third installment... —one doesn’t come to a movie of this sort expecting anybody’s best work. Or at least one certainly shouldn’t, because it won’t materialize." Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, saying "The third installment, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb may be the best, and even the generally wound-too-tight Ben Stiller - once again playing a bemused Museum of Natural History guard - is easy to tolerate." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Where the previous films felt frenetic and forced, this outing feels breezier, more enjoyable and less contrived." Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film three out of five stars, saying "There's a serenity to museum visits, especially if it's a place you know and love. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, amazingly, recaptures that feeling in big-studio franchise form."

Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is a rather lackluster affair, a cash grab that tries to aim a little higher but confuses sappy shortcuts with real emotion." Joe McGovern of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B, saying "It's kind of fun, unembarrassingly, and not least of all because the people who made it look like they had a good time doing so." Tom Long of The Detroit News gave the film a B, saying "There are some key elements that make this Night at the Museum sequel work better than its predecessor." Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two out of four stars, saying "The exhibits in this Night at the Museum may still come to life nightly. But their latest movie stays stubbornly inert." Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Seeing Ben Stiller, the late Robin Williams, and their magically roused gang together again, this time in London, is initially all about indulgent, nostalgic smiles rather than new wows. But then comes the movie’s exceptionally clever and fresh final act, which delivers genuine surprise along with many laughs." Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film three out of five stars, saying "The third Night at the Museum film starts strongly, with its heart in the past... It’s an exciting opening, and perhaps too exciting for the film’s own good. It’s hard not to be disappointed when the plot moves back to the present and settles into the time-honoured formula of digitised creatures running riot and famous people in fancy dress doing shtick." Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying "Despite relocating across the pond to the esteemed British Museum, the creaky Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb fails to capitalize on the comic potential provided by that change of venue."

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film a C+, saying "Secret of the Tomb plays it as a source of corny jokes, pop-culture references, and father-son bonding moments. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of film that shouldn’t be expected to engage with its assorted bizarre subtexts — but what a movie it could be if it did." Sara Stewart of the New York Post gave the film two out of four stars, saying "For piquing kids’ interest in history and nature, you could do worse than this goofy Ben Stiller franchise. But its third installment is more meh than manic, too reliant on wide shots of the ragtag Museum of Natural History cohorts striding down corridors. You get the feeling returning director Shawn Levy is ready to hang it up." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one and a half stars out of five, saying "The dialogue is schmaltzy and often painfully unfunny. The special effects are often so 1980s-bad, one wonders if it was a deliberate choice, to make the creepy visuals of sculptures dancing and paintings moving less frightening to young viewers. Time and again, terrific actors sink in the equivalent of cinematic quicksand, helpless against the sucking sound of this movie." Drew Hunt of Slant Magazine gave the film one out of four stars, saying "None of the entries in the Night at the Museum series could ever pass for high art, but a wealth of comedic talent gave the first two installments a madcap energy that somewhat forgave their childish premises. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, the third and supposedly final edition in the franchise, is nothing more than an uncomfortably transparent contractual obligation."

Home media

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 10, 2015. The film debuted in second place on the home media charts behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.

External links

• Official website
• Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb at IMDb
• Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb at Box Office Mojo