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The film was released on May 4, 2001 by Universal Pictures. Like its predecessor, The Mummy Returns was a commercial success, grossing $435 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2001 and the highest-grossing film of the film series. The film received mixed reviews from critics. It was followed by a 2002 prequel film The Scorpion King, a spin-off that is set 5,000 years prior and whose eponymous character, played by Johnson was introduced in this film. A sequel starring Fraser and Hannah, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, was released in 2008.
Plot
In 3067 B.C., a warrior known as the Scorpion King leads an army to conquer the world. However, they are eventually defeated and exiled to the desert of Ahm Shere. Dying, the King vows to give Anubis his soul in return for the power to defeat his enemies. He accepts, conjuring an oasis and goldenpyramid, and giving the King an army of jackal-like warriors to conquer Egypt. However, once his task is finished, Anubis claims his soul, and the army is returned to the Underworld.
In 1933 A.D., nine years after the defeat of Imhotep,[a]Rick O'Connell and his wife, Evelyn, explore ancient ruins with their son, Alex, finding the Bracelet of Anubis. In London, Alex plays with the bracelet, which locks onto his wrist, showing him visions that lead to Ahm Shere. Evelyn is attacked and captured by a cult who resurrect Imhotep with the Book of the Dead; they wish to use his power to defeat the King, which would give them command of Anubis's army.
Rick frees Evelyn before she is sacrificed and they fight against Imhotep. Meanwhile, Alex is kidnapped and forced to lead the cult with the bracelet. The O'Connells pursue them with Rick's associate Izzy. En route, Alex secretly leaves clues for his parents, who follow in Izzy's dirigible.
Imhotep uses the Book of the Dead to restore Anck-su-namun's soul into Meela's body. By doing so, he unwittingly allows Evelyn to unlock the memories of her previous life as Princess Nefertiri, the bracelet's keeper and PharaohSeti I's daughter.
At the edge of the Oasis, Imhotep realizes that they are being pursued by Rick and uses his powers to attack the dirigible, causing it to crash into the oasis's jungle; Izzy chooses to stay behind to repair the dirigible. The O'Connells, Ardeth, Alex, and the cult are eventually attacked by pygmy mummies. Rick retrieves Alex while Ardeth kills Lock-Nah.
They escape from the pygmies, who kill all of the cult members except for Hafez, Imhotep, and Anck-su-namun. Rick and Alex race to the pyramid before the sun light reaches it, saving Alex's life and allowing the bracelet to release from his hand. Anck-su-namun, Imhotep, and Hafez then arrive and kill Evelyn before entering the pyramid.
Inside the pyramid, Imhotep loses his powers and is forced to face the King as a mortal. Hafez uses the bracelet to conjure Anubis's army, which appears in the desert outside of the Oasis. Rick finds Imhotep summoning the King and attacks him. The King, now an enormous scorpion monster, interrupts the fight. Imhotep tricks him into attacking Rick. Outside, Ardeth and the Medjai battle Anubis's resurrected army. While Rick and the King fight, Hafez is caught in the melee and dies.
Meanwhile, Jonathan and Alex steal the Book of the Dead from Anck-su-namun and use it to resurrect Evelyn. Rick discovers hieroglyphs explaining that Jonathan's scepter is the mystic Spear of Osiris, the only weapon capable of killing the King. Meanwhile, Evie fights with Anck-su-namun. Aided by Jonathan, Rick gets the spear and uses it to slay the King, sending him and the army of Anubis back into the Underworld.
As the oasis begins to implode and the pyramid crumbles, Rick and Imhotep cling to the ledge of a pit that leads to the underworld. Rick implores Evelyn to escape, but she risks her life to pull him to safety. Seeing this, Imhotep pleads for Anck-su-namun to do the same, but she abandons him. Heartbroken, Imhotep looks at Rick and Evie before letting go and plummeting into the underworld. While fleeing, Anck-su-namun inadvertently falls into a pit of scorpions and dies.
Izzy then arrives with the repaired dirigible and rescues the O'Connells just before the oasis and the pyramid are destroyed—though not before Jonathan swipes a diamond. They depart into the sunset, with Ardeth saluting them before riding off.
The soundtrack contains Silvestri's as well as a version of the song "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" by the rock band Live, which slightly differs from the song's album version.
The Mummy Returns earned $23.4 million on its first day of release, then made $26.8 million the day after. This made it the highest Friday and Saturday grosses, surpassing both Toy Story 2 and The Lost World: Jurassic Park respectively.[7] Later that year, those records were simultaneously given to Planet of the Apes and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.[8][9] During its opening weekend, the film made $68.1 million, making it the second-highest opening weekend of all time, only behind The Lost World: Jurassic Park.[10] Moreover, it surpassed Hannibal to have the highest opening weekend for a 2001 film, joining Monsters, Inc., Rush Hour 2 and Planet of the Apes to become one of the only four films of that year to make $60 million in their first three days of release.[11] The film also became one of four consecutive Universal films of the year to cross the $40 million in an opening weekend, with the others being American Pie 2, The Fast and the Furious and Jurassic Park III.[12] Upon opening, the film reached the top of the box office, beating out Driven.[13] For its second weekend, it collected a total of $33.7 million, outgrossing A Knight's Tale in the process.[14]The Mummy Returns would remain in the number one spot at the box office for a total of two weeks until Shrek took it.[15]
The film grossed $202 million in the United States and Canada box offices and $233 million internationally, grossing over $435 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2001.[1]
Critical response
The Mummy Returns received mixed reviews from critics. It currently holds a 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's consensus states: "In The Mummy Returns, the special effects are impressive, but the characters seem secondary to the computer-generated imagery."[16]Metacritic reported an average rating of 48 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[18]
Roger Ebert, who awarded the first film three stars, gave the second film only two, saying that "The mistake of The Mummy Returns is to abandon the characters, and to use the plot only as a clothesline for special effects and action sequences."[19]James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), calling it "hollow, lightweight entertainment—not unpleasant, but far from the summer's definitive action/adventure flick.[20]
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, praising its "constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences."[21] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised "the nonstop action of the final hour", saying that it "bursts with visual goodies."[22] Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald said, "Twelve-year-olds weaned on Nintendo may not mind, but anyone who remembers the tactile thrill of an alarmingly real boulder rolling down on Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark will be left cold."[23]
Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review, saying that it "has all of the clank but none of the swank of the previous version."[17] Charles Taylor of Salon.com was also not impressed, calling The Mummy Returns "everything the first Mummy was fun for not being."[24]
The Mummy Returns debuted on VHS and DVD on October 2, 2001.[28][29] It became the fastest-selling DVD ever in the United States, selling 2 million copies after its first week of release, while also surpassing Gladiator.[30] The film would briefly hold this record for two weeks until it was taken by Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when it sold 2.2 million copies during its first week.[31] There are two separate versions of this DVD release either in widescreen or fullscreen formats.[32]
The film was subsequently released on the high-definition Blu-ray format in July 2008,[33] and on UHD Blu-ray in 2017.[34]
Video games
Two video games based on the movie were released. The first was released on the Game Boy Color, developed by GameBrains, and was released within the film's theatrical release.[35] The other is for the PlayStation 2, developed by Blitz Games and was released in October 2001, to coincide with the film's home media release.[36][37] Both titles were published by Universal Interactive.[38]
A spin-off/prequel film centering on Dwayne Johnson's character, the Scorpion King, was released on April 19, 2002. It focuses on the King's origins, as he rises to power before the events of The Mummy Returns' prologue. The film received mixed reviews but was only a moderate commercial success.[39][40] It spawned The Scorpion King film series, with direct-to-video sequels and with different actors playing the title role.
A sequel to The Mummy Returns was released on August 1, 2008. Brendan Fraser and John Hannah both reprised their roles, while Rachel Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello as Evelyn, and Luke Ford played the now-adult Alex O'Connell. The film received generally negative reviews,[41] and was the lowest-grossing film of the trilogy.[42]
Imhotep was an Egyptian chancellor to the King Djoser, possible architect of Djoser's step pyramid, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figure, but in the 3,000 years following his death, he was gradually glorified and deified.
The Mummy is a 1999 American action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name. The film follows adventurer and treasure hunter Rick O'Connell as he travels to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, with librarian Evelyn Carnahan and her older brother Jonathan, where they accidentally awaken Imhotep, a cursed high priest with supernatural powers.
The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Monsters franchise, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron.
Stephen Sommers is an American film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for big-budget action films, such as The Mummy (1999), its sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001), Van Helsing (2004), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). He also directed The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994) and the action horror film Deep Rising (1998).
Ankhesenamun was a queen who lived during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. Born Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She became the Great Royal Wife of Tutankhamun. The change in her name reflects the changes in ancient Egyptian religion during her lifetime after her father's death. Her youth is well documented in the ancient reliefs and paintings of the reign of her parents.
The Scorpion King is a 2002 action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell. The film stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as the lead, with Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan in supporting roles. It is both a prequel and spin-off of The Mummy franchise and launched The Scorpion King film series. The film was Johnson's first lead role. The film grossed $180.6 million worldwide against the production budget of $60 million. It received mixed reviews.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a 2008 American action adventure fantasy film directed by Rob Cohen, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and produced by Stephen Sommers, Bob Ducsay, Sean Daniel, and James Jacks. The film is set in China rather than Egypt and focuses on the Terracotta Army's origins. It is the third and final installment in The Mummy trilogy. It stars Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Luke Ford, Anthony Wong, and Michelle Yeoh.
The Mummy is an American animated series produced by Universal Cartoon Studios based on the 1999 film of the same name. It premiered on Kids' WB on The WB network on September 29, 2001. It is set in 1938. It was retooled and renamed The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai for its second and final season, which began on February 8, 2003. The show was cancelled on June 7 the same year. Reruns of the show still aired on Kids' WB until it was removed from its Saturday morning lineup around July 2003.
The Universal Monsters media franchise includes characters based on a series of horror films produced by Universal Pictures and released between 1913–1956.
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Eurocom and published by THQ for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. A version for mobile phones was released in 2004. THQ Nordic published a high-definition remaster for personal computer systems in 2017, and Nintendo Switch in 2019.
Luke Ford is a Canadian-Australian actor. His career began in television in 2000 and his first film role was in 2006 before being cast in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008. Ford's regular television roles include those in the Australian series Underbelly in 2013, Cleverman in 2017, and Amazing Grace in 2021.
The Mummy is a media franchise based on films by Universal Pictures about a mummified ancient Egyptian priest who is accidentally resurrected, bringing with him a powerful curse, and the ensuing efforts of heroic archaeologists to stop him. The franchise was created by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer.
Imhotep is the main antagonist of the 1932 film The Mummy. He is also the main antagonist in the 1999 remake and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. Sofia Boutella plays a female version of this character named Ahmanet in the 2017 reboot. Imhotep is loosely inspired by the historical figure Imhotep, a noted polymath and counselor to the Pharaoh Djoser in the 27th century BC.
Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún is a Venezuelan actress, model, and philanthropist. As an actress, she is known for her portrayal of Anck-su-namun in the 1999 film The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns.
Revenge of the Mummy, officially named Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, is an enclosed roller coaster located at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Singapore. It is themed to The Mummy film franchise, and the ride features linear induction motors (LIMs) that launch riders to a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h) in a matter of seconds. The Florida and Singapore locations have the same track layout, although each location offers a slightly different virtual experience. Manufactured by Premier Rides, the attractions feature track switches installed by Dynamic Structures. Universal Creative and ITEC Entertainment Corporation created the theme at each location, with Adirondack Studios responsible for several of the unique elements implemented at the Singapore location.
The Mummy is a 2017 American fantasy action-adventure film co-produced and directed by Alex Kurtzman from a screenplay written by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman based on a story by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts, and Jenny Lumet. A reboot of the Mummy franchise, it stars Tom Cruise as U.S. Army Sergeant Nick Morton, a soldier of fortune who accidentally unearths the ancient tomb of entrapped Egyptian princess Ahmanet. Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Russell Crowe also star.
Richard "Rick" O’Connell is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the second incarnation of The Mummy franchise. He is portrayed by Brendan Fraser. Fraser reprised the role of O'Connell in The Mummy Returns released in 2001, and in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor from 2008.
The Mummy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 1999 film The Mummy directed by Stephen Sommers. The film score is composed by Jerry Goldsmith which utilizes traditional orchestral music and native instruments. The 15-track score album was released under the Decca Records label on May 4, 1999, while a special edition album that consisted of previously unreleased material was released through Intrada Records on July 17, 2018. The score was positively reviewed and highlighted as one of Goldsmith's best scores in his career.
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