Zathura: A Space Adventure is a film directed by Jon Favreau, released in November 2005, based on an illustrated book by Chris Van Allsburg. It starred Jonah Bobo as Danny and Josh Hutcherson as Walter. Tim Robbins also had a small role as the divorced father of Walter and Danny. The film also gave a sister to the boys, introduced a derelict astronaut to the plot, and multiplied the number of the Zorgons and Zorgon ships.
Despite having very positive buzz from critics (75% on Rotten Tomatoes) and screenings, it was considered a box office bomb. It grossed only $29,258,869, less than half of its $65 million budget. The international box office total was $35,062,632, for a total of $64,321,501 worldwide
Pop culture references
* A poster for the film Bullitt is visible in several scenes.
* In the living room, a leg lamp resembling the one from A Christmas Story can be seen in the background, an homage to Executive Producer Peter Billingsley, who was young Ralphie in A Christmas Story.
* Danny plays Jak 3 at the beginning of the film. He also has a poster of the game in his room.
* The Astronaut burns a couch and tosses it outside to deflect an enemy, in the same way as is done in Night of the Living Dead.
* Danny watches the Bubblestand episode of SpongeBob SquarePants at one point in the film; Patrick Star can be heard laughing and saying "It's a giraffe!". After Walter changes the channel to SportsCenter, Danny says "Hey! I was watching that" and asks Walter "Can we watch SpongeBob?" When Walter refuses, Danny says "You used to like it," to which Walter replies "Times change." Danny then mutters "Tartar sauce" under his breath.
* Walter gets angry at his father for agreeing to play Super Smash Bros. with Danny.
* Lisa remarks at one point that "we should have never rented Thirteen".
* Lisa has a Tenacious D - The Complete Masterworks poster in her room.
* In The Apprentice 4 week 5 (which aired in 2005), one of the tasks candidates were given was to create a parade float to promote Zathura for Sony Pictures. To win the task, the float needed to reflect the spirit of the film and be relevant to the core audience of the film. Wikipedia
