The Mummy Returns turns 25 on the big screen

© Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is proud to announce the nationwide theatrical re-release of The Mummy Returns, director Stephen Sommers’ rollicking sequel to 1999’s Oscar-nominated blockbuster hit, The Mummy. To mark the film’s 25th anniversary, the action-packed adventure returns to theaters across the country on March 27, 2026 for a very special limited engagement.

Advance ticket sales launch today, February 19.  

An exciting new take on one of Universal’s iconic Classic Monsters, The Mummy introduced moviegoers to dashing French foreign legionnaire Rick O’Connell (Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser) and whip-smart scholar and librarian Evelyn (Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz), sending them on a mythology-inspired adventure through 1920s Egypt. The film, bolstered by winning performances and spectacular imagery, dominated the summer box office and became a true pop-culture sensation, earning more than $417.6 million worldwide.

Last week, Universal Pictures announced that a new installment in The Mummy franchise, starring Fraser and Weisz, will be released on May 19, 2028.

Set 10 years after the events of the first film, The Mummy Returns picks up in 1933 with the swashbuckling heroes now married and living in London. Parents to eight-year-old Alex (Freddie Boath), the couple brings the boy along to their Egyptian expeditions, where they inadvertently uncover a rare artifact, the Bracelet of Anubis. The piece once belonged to a fearsome warrior known as the Scorpion King (Dwayne Johnson in his feature film debut) and can be used to command his army of jackal-like fighters.

Back in London, trouble begins after the bracelet locks onto Alex’s wrist, just as a cult planning to resurrect the powerful mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), kidnaps Evelyn. Suddenly, father and son are forced to undertake a dangerous rescue mission alongside Evelyn’s spoiled brother (John Hannah), one that pits them against Meela Nais (Patricia Velasquez). The physical reincarnation of Imhotep’s ancient lover, she hopes Imhotep will defeat the Scorpion King in battle, thereby conquering the world.

Dodging all manner of unimaginable threats—death-defying chases, merciless hand-to-hand combat, even ritual sacrifice—the O’Connell family bravely fights to save the globe, and one another, from certain destruction.

A gleeful ode to the spirit of Saturday morning serials, the PG-13 adventure was filled with bombast and eye-popping visual effects. Storming into theaters May 4, 2001, The Mummy Returns collected upwards of $68.1 million in its opening weekend at the North American box office. It went on to bring in $435 million worldwide, ranking as the seventh highest-grossing film of 2001.

Audiences and critics, including the Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan, were wowed by the manic, mesmerizing imagery unfolding on screen. “This sequel is a shrewdly conceived and efficiently executed Saturday afternoon popcorn movie,” Turan raved. “Both pleasantly old-fashioned and packed with up-to-date computer-generated special effects, the film’s constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences have no trouble attracting our attention and holding on.”

Turan went on to praise the returning cast, including Oded Fehr in his supporting role as Ardeth Bay, as well as Sommers and key crew members including producers James Jacks and Sean Daniel, cinematographer Adrian Biddle, production designer Allan Cameron and costume designer John Bloomfield. Industrial Light & Magic’s CG maestro John Berton served as the film’s visual effects supervisor.

The Mummy Returns was nominated for a Golden Reel Award by the Motion Pictures Sound Editors organization in the Best Sound Editing —Effects & Foley, Domestic Feature Film category. It also led to a 2002 spin-off, The Scorpion King, a sword and sorcery epic that saw Johnson reprising his Mummy Returns role. Fraser returned for a third film as Rick O’Connell, starring in 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

The Mummy Trilogy is available to purchase on Apple TV.