Ben Stiller plays Larry Daley, a divorced father in New York City who takes a night watchman job at the American Museum of Natural History after bouncing between apartments and jobs. On his first night, he falls asleep. When he wakes, the T-rex skeleton is gone.
Trailer, via Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers.
Shawn Levy and the Golden Tablet
Director Shawn Levy builds the film around one mechanic: a magical Egyptian artifact, the Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ahkmenrah, which arrived at the museum in 1952 and brings every exhibit to life after sunset. Anything caught outside at sunrise disintegrates. Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon wrote the script, based on Milan Trenc’s 1993 children’s book.
The premise is strong. The execution is not.
Ben Stiller and the Broken Manual
Cecil Fredericks, the near-retired guard played by Dick Van Dyke, hands Larry a manual and warns him not to let anything in or out. A stuffed capuchin monkey named Dexter tears up the instructions and steals Larry’s keys. From there, Night at the Museum runs on noise: feuding miniature civilizations, a gum-chewing Easter Island Moai who calls Larry “Dum-Dum,” pyromaniacal Neanderthals, Attila the Hun.
Robin Williams plays Theodore Roosevelt, the wax Rough Rider who mentors Larry and pines for Sacagawea without telling her. Williams is the best thing here.
Carla Gugino and a Cast Left Waiting
The cast is deep. Carla Gugino as docent Rebecca Hutman. Mickey Rooney as Gus, who dislikes Larry on sight. Bill Cobbs as Reginald. Ricky Gervais as curator Dr. Leslie McPhee. Rami Malek, in his film debut, as the mummy Ahkmenrah. Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan appear uncredited as Jedediah and Octavius.
Almost none of them get a scene worth their time. The film keeps cutting away to the next exhibit before anyone can land.
Numbers Behind Night at the Museum
- Release: December 22, 2006 (US), 20th Century Fox
- Premiere: New York City, December 17, 2006
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- Gross: $574.5 million — fifth highest-grossing film of 2006
- Metacritic: 48/100 (4.8/10)
Release Order
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 17, 2006 | New York City premiere |
| December 22, 2006 | US theatrical release |
| 2009 | Battle of the Smithsonian |
| 2014 | Secret of the Tomb |
| 2022 | Kahmunrah Rises Again (Disney+) |
Why the Sequels Kept Coming
Two live-action sequels followed, plus an animated spin-off on Disney+. The franchise kept going because the idea travels. A museum that wakes up is a gift for a family film, and Levy’s version never quite trusts it.
Where the Movie Goes Wrong
Night at the Museum is a 108-minute film with maybe 20 minutes of good movie inside it. The Golden Tablet is a clean, simple engine, and the film buries it under chaos it can’t control. Stiller is game. Williams is warm. The rest is a parade of exhibits with nowhere to go.
Mixed reviews were the right call. A $574.5 million gross says families showed up anyway, and the sequels prove the concept outlived the execution.
4.8 of 10.
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