The film stars Ben Stiller, with Ricky Gervais, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Jon Bernthal, Rami Malek and Robin Williams.

Three years after the events of the first film, Larry Daley has left his job as night guard at the American Museum of Natural History to start a company selling his own inventions on direct response television.

He visits the museum and learns that most of the exhibits are scheduled to be moved to the Smithsonian Institution archives in Washington D.C. and replaced with holographic displays.

Larry receives a panicked phone call from miniature cowboy Jedediah, who explains that Dexter the monkey brought the tablet to the Smithsonian, where they are under attack by Ahkmenrah's older brother Kahmunrah.

Determined to save them, Larry travels to Washington, D.C. and poses as a night guard to sneak into the archives, where he finds his friends trapped by Kahmunrah, who plans to use the tablet's powers to conquer the world.

They encounter various figures from the history of flight, including the Wright brothers, a squadron of Tuskegee Airmen, and Able the space monkey, while a group of Albert Einstein bobbleheads explain that the combination is the value of pi.

Miniature Roman general Octavius arrives with the statue of Lincoln, frightening the warriors back to the Underworld, and Amelia gathers an army of allies, including Larry's friends and Custer, leading to a climactic battle.

Back in his job as night guard, Larry meets a visitor named Tess who bears a striking resemblance to Amelia.

20th Century Fox announced that the sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian would be released during Memorial Day weekend in 2009.

The trailer accompanied the film Bride Wars in January, The Pink Panther 2 in February, and Dragonball Evolution in April 2009.

[7] All tracks are written by Alan SilvestriAdditional Music A trailer of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was released on December 19, 2008.

[citation needed] An alternate ending included on the DVD and Blu-ray features the return of Dick Van Dyke as Cecil Fredericks, Bill Cobbs as Reginald, and Mickey Rooney as Gus.

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] In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, audiences gave Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian an average grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F.[17][18] Critics praised Amy Adams's and Hank Azaria's performances.

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film 3 stars out of 4, stating that "[Adams]'s terrific – a sparkling screen presence".

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.

[24] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times awarded the film 1½ stars out of 4, saying, "Its premise is lame, its plot relentlessly predictable, its characters with personalities that would distinguish picture books.

Ben Stiller admitted that a sequel was "a possibility", and on January 21, 2010, co-writer Thomas Lennon said to Access Hollywood, "That after the success of two Night at the Museum films, it's no surprise that 20th Century Fox is looking to develop a third and that those suspicions are indeed true and how could you not?