Four years after his adventure in the center of the Earth, 17-year-old Sean Anderson is caught by police following a high-speed dirt bike pursuit that ends in a neighbor's swimming pool. His stepfather, Hank Parsons, intervenes to keep him out of juvenile detention.
Sean had broken into a satellite facility to boost a coded signal he believes was sent by his long-missing grandfather, Alexander. Hank helps him decode the message, which leads them to three classic novels—Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels, and The Mysterious Island—and a set of coordinates pointing to a location in the South Pacific.
Traveling to Palau, they hire helicopter pilot Gabato Laguatan and his daughter Kailani to fly to the coordinates. A cyclone storm crashes them onto the mysterious island, where they encounter miniature elephants, giant butterflies, and other unusual fauna.
They are soon rescued by Alexander, who has been living on the island for years. He reveals they are on the legendary Mysterious Island, which rises and sinks every 70 years. While Alexander believes they have time, Hank finds signs that the island will sink in a matter of days.
To escape, they seek the submarine Nautilus, hidden in an underwater cave at Poseidon's Cliffs. With Kailani's help, they locate Captain Nemo's journal and identify the sub's location. The group travels on giant bees to reach the site but are attacked by bee-eating birds. Sean is injured saving Kailani, and the group briefly rests.
Gabato, enticed by the island's gold, goes missing. While Alexander and Kailani retrieve him from the erupting volcano, Sean and Hank dive to the cave, evading a giant electric eel, and restart Nautilus using the eel's bioelectric charge.
They rescue the others just as the island sinks. Gabato pilots the submarine to safety, while Hank and Sean defend it from volcanic debris. Months later, Gabato operates a successful tourist business aboard Nautilus, and Kailani visits Sean on his birthday. Alexander arrives with From the Earth to the Moon, suggesting it as their next adventure.
After the commercial success of the first film, New Line Cinema and Walden Media purchased Richard Outten's spec script, Mysterious Travels, in March 2009 to serve as the basis for the film. In the story, the characters embark on a journey to a mysterious uncharted island thought to have inspired the writing of three literary classics: Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn were chosen to revise Outten's script. Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line announced that Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Reception
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island grossed $103.9 million in North America and $231.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $335.3 million, against a production budget of $79 million surpassing its predecessor. In North America, the film earned a $6.54 million on its debut Friday, ranking fourth at the box office. Over the weekend, it earned $27.3 million, coming in third place, much higher than the original's $21.0 million debut. Outside North America, Journey 2 began its run three weeks before its North American release.
