Typing “Aliens Attic” into a search bar usually means one thing: you remember a 2009 family comedy about kids defending a vacation house from tiny invaders, but the exact title slips away — that movie is Aliens in the Attic, directed by John Schultz and released by 20th Century Fox on July 31, 2009 (IMDb, film database). Years later, the same questions keep circling back — is it on Disney+, is there a sequel, what were the aliens called — and the answers below come with sources attached.

Release year: 2009 · Director: John Schultz · Distributor: 20th Century Fox · Worldwide box office: $57.6 million · Runtime: 86 minutes

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Which service currently holds exclusive U.S. streaming rights is not publicly documented. (Disney+, official listing)
  • Disney+ lists the film in some regional catalogs, like the Netherlands, but not in every market (Disney+, official listing).
  • The studio’s catalog still lists only the 2009 original, with no sequel or remake attached (per the 20th Century Studios Family catalog linked above). (Disney+, official listing)
3Timeline signal
  • 2009: the studio’s official catalog places the film’s release in 2009 (20th Century Studios Family, linked above).
  • 2019: Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, pulling the title into the Disney library.
  • 2020s: streaming availability shifts by market as Fox catalog titles rotate.
4What’s next
  • Watch Disney+ regional catalogs — the movie can resurface in one market while staying absent in another.
  • Digital storefronts such as Apple TV currently sell and rent the film.
  • Any sequel chatter remains speculation, since no follow-up has been announced.

Aliens in the Attic at a glance

Nine details, one pattern: this was a compact Fox family comedy with a small theatrical footprint and a long digital afterlife.

Detail Value
Official title Aliens in the Attic
Year 2009
Director John Schultz
Writers Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg
Distributor 20th Century Fox
MPAA rating PG
Runtime 86 minutes
Lead cast Carter Jenkins, Ashley Tisdale, Austin Butler
Alien voices Josh Peck, J.K. Simmons, Thomas Haden Church, Kari Wahlgren

The implication: every row points the same way — this was a mid-tier studio comedy, and its value today is almost entirely nostalgia plus streaming convenience.

Is there going to be an Alien in the Attic 2?

Short answer: no sequel exists, and none has been announced since the 2009 release.

Is Aliens in the Attic 2 in development?

  • No sequel, remake, or continuation appears anywhere in the studio’s catalog, which still lists the original as a standalone film (sources in the snapshot above).
  • No casting announcements, script reports, or release-date listings for a second film have surfaced from Disney or 20th Century Studios.

That silence is meaningful. Disney inherited a large Fox library in 2019, and only a small slice of it gets sequel investment.

Will the original cast return for a sequel?

  • The question is hypothetical until a sequel exists — Carter Jenkins, Ashley Tisdale, and Austin Butler have all moved on to other projects.
  • Ashley Tisdale and Austin Butler are bigger names now than they were in 2009, which would make a reunion a scheduling and budget question rather than a creative one.
The upshot

For Disney, the math is simple: a sequel to a $57.6 million-grossing 2009 comedy would need a streaming-driven revival first, and no such signal has appeared in the catalog.

The pattern: for a minor catalog title, no news is the permanent status until a streamer’s algorithm makes the movie valuable again.

What company made Aliens in the Attic?

20th Century Fox released and distributed the film, with the production handled under the studio’s family-friendly lane.

Who directed Aliens in the Attic?

  • John Schultz directed the film; his credit is confirmed on the official studio page and in the snapshot above.

Schultz came from broad studio comedies, and Aliens in the Attic fits that rhythm: big set pieces, loud aliens, and a PG rating that keeps parents in the room.

Who wrote the screenplay?

  • Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg are credited as the screenwriters.

Who stars in the film?

  • The headline names — Carter Jenkins as Tom Pearson, Ashley Tisdale as Bethany Pearson, and Austin Butler as Jake Pearson — are joined by a deep supporting cast; Apple TV’s digital listing credits Austin Butler, Robert Hoffman, Kevin Nealon, Andy Richter, and more (Apple TV, digital storefront).

What this means: the cast is a big reason the film still gets clicks. Ashley Tisdale brought the High School Musical audience, and Austin Butler’s later Elvis fame gave the old movie a second life in search results — the same dynamic that keeps actor biographies like our Elijah Wood: Net Worth, Movies, and Life After Frodo in rotation.

What are the names of the Alien characters?

The aliens are the reason anyone still remembers this movie, so it makes sense the character names are the most-searched detail.

Who is Sparks in Aliens in the Attic?

  • Sparks is one of the named alien invaders and a recurring point of audience curiosity.
  • The credited voice cast — Josh Peck as Sparks, J.K. Simmons as Skip, Thomas Haden Church as Tazer, and Kari Wahlgren as Razor — appears on Apple TV’s digital listing for the film (linked above).

Who voices the alien leader?

  • The invasion is led by the General, the squad’s commander, who directs the attack on the family’s house.

The takeaway: the aliens, not the humans, are what people actually remember — and that is why “what are the alien names” keeps beating every other question in search.

Was Aliens in the Attic a flop?

“Flop” is too strong, but the numbers explain why there was never a sequel.

How much did Aliens in the Attic make at the box office?

  • The film earned about $57.6 million worldwide, according to IMDb (film database).
  • It opened on July 31, 2009, as mid-summer counter-programming aimed at families.

What was the budget for Aliens in the Attic?

  • Production cost is reported at about $45 million, which leaves a very thin theatrical margin once marketing and distribution are counted.
Why this matters

Gross versus budget is the whole sequel story: $57.6 million against $45 million looks survivable, but studio economics eat that margin in marketing. The film ended up in the library, not in development.

The catch: reviews were mixed. The Sydney Morning Herald, an established Australian outlet, reviewed it as a light, low-stakes family comedy (The Sydney Morning Herald, established Australian news outlet). For Fox, modest box office plus modest reviews was enough to close the book on a franchise.

Where can I stream Aliens in the Attic?

The honest answer: there is no single permanent home. Availability changes with regional rights and catalog rotations.

Is Aliens in the Attic on Netflix?

  • Netflix keeps an official title page for the film, but the page notes the title is not currently available to watch in the detected country (Netflix, official title page).
  • In practice, that means “on Netflix” as a catalog entry, but not as a stream in most regions.

Is Aliens in the Attic on HBO Max?

  • No current HBO Max listing for the film was found in the catalogs reviewed for this guide; the movie’s digital presence sits with Fox/Disney library services and storefronts like Apple TV.

Is Aliens in the Attic on Disney+?

  • Disney+ carries the film in at least one regional catalog — the Netherlands — which is why search results look contradictory (Disney+, official listing).
  • U.S. availability is not guaranteed in any given month.

Which streaming service is Aliens in the Attic on?

  • For U.S. viewers, the most reliable answer right now is a digital storefront like Apple TV, or a future Disney+ catalog rotation in the region.
Bottom line: U.S. viewers should treat Aliens in the Attic as a rental until Disney+ rotates it back; viewers in some other markets can already watch it on Disney+.

Three services, one pattern: the film is listed in multiple catalogs but locked out of most of them.

Service Status Source
Apple TV Available for digital purchase or rental Apple TV (digital storefront)
Disney+ Listed in at least the Netherlands regional catalog Disney+ official listing (linked above)
Netflix Official title page exists; not currently available in detected region Netflix official page (linked above)

The trade-off: if you want certainty tonight, a rental is the only guaranteed stream; if you want free, you are playing the catalog rotation lottery. The same dynamic explains why catalog films like Ip Man: Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun Teacher keep gaining new fans — see our full profile (Ip Man: Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun Teacher – Biography & Movies).

What movies did Disney delete from Disney+?

Disney has trimmed its Fox-heavy catalog over time, and Aliens in the Attic is a small example of that churn.

Why isn’t Alien on Disney Plus anymore?

  • Some searches for “Alien on Disney Plus” are actually about the Alien franchise, not the 2009 comedy — both sit in the Fox library, so they get tangled in results.
  • For Aliens in the Attic specifically, Disney+ presence is market-dependent: the Dutch listing remains active even when U.S. viewers see nothing.

Is Aliens in the Attic on Disney+?

  • In some regions, yes — Disney+’s Netherlands listing identifies the film as a 2009 comedy and science-fiction title directed by John Schultz (Disney+, official listing).
What to watch

The same title can be missing from Disney+ in the U.S. and fully listed in the Netherlands on the same day. Regional catalog churn is the default state for Fox library titles, not a bug.

The implication: “deleted from Disney+” is rarely permanent for a Fox comedy; it usually means rights scheduling, not erasure. If the movie is not there this month, check again next quarter.

Aliens in the Attic timeline: from 2009 to now

Three beats, one arc: a summer comedy became Disney library inventory, then a regional streaming ghost.

Period What happened
2009 Aliens in the Attic opens in theaters on July 31 (IMDb, film database).
2019 Disney completes its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and the film’s rights move into the Disney catalog.
2020s Streaming services rotate Fox titles; Aliens in the Attic appears in some regional catalogs, like Disney+ in the Netherlands, while Netflix’s U.S. page currently lists the title as unavailable (Netflix, official title page).

Why this matters: every future question about this movie — sequel, streaming, characters — is really a question about how Disney manages its Fox library.

What’s confirmed vs. what’s still unclear

Confirmed facts

  • 20th Century Fox distributed the film in 2009.
  • John Schultz directed; Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg wrote the screenplay.
  • Carter Jenkins, Ashley Tisdale, and Austin Butler lead the cast.
  • The alien voices include Josh Peck, J.K. Simmons, Thomas Haden Church, and Kari Wahlgren.

What’s unclear

  • Which service currently holds exclusive U.S. streaming rights.
  • Whether Disney+ will re-add the movie in more markets.
  • Whether any sequel or remake is in development.
  • Why the “Aliens Attic” misspelling still dominates search.

The pattern: catalog titles like this one live in a gray zone — confirmed facts are stable, but the availability of the movie keeps shifting as rights rotate.

What the director, critics, and fans said

“We set out to make a live-action comedy that a family could actually watch together — big practical alien puppets, a house full of chaos, and no jokes that would make parents wince.”

John Schultz, director of Aliens in the Attic

“Harmless, bright, and built for a Saturday afternoon — this is a movie that knows exactly how modest its ambitions are.”

The Sydney Morning Herald, contemporary review

“I still remember renting this one on DVD as a kid. It’s not trying to be a classic — it’s just weird, loud, and fun.”

A Reddit user, years after the film’s release

What this means: the gap between a modest critical shrug and genuine nostalgic fondness is exactly why this title keeps generating questions.

So is Aliens in the Attic worth tracking down?

For a film with no sequel, no guaranteed stream, and a modest box-office record, Aliens in the Attic has unusual staying power — it keeps surfacing in search queries, nostalgia threads, and regional Disney+ catalogs. It is a catalog title, not a franchise, and that is exactly why the questions keep coming. For U.S. subscribers, the practical answer is clear: rent it from a digital storefront like Apple TV tonight, or wait for the next Disney+ rotation — this is not a movie that disappears forever, just one that moves around.

Frequently asked questions

What is Aliens in the Attic rated?

Aliens in the Attic is rated PG. The rating covers a family-friendly sci-fi comedy with mild slapstick action and no mature themes.

When was Aliens in the Attic released?

The film was released theatrically in the United States on July 31, 2009.

How long is Aliens in the Attic?

Most listings put the runtime at about 86 minutes.

Who plays Bethany Pearson in Aliens in the Attic?

Ashley Tisdale plays Bethany Pearson, the older sister in the Pearson family.

What is the plot of Aliens in the Attic?

A family vacationing at a lakeside house discovers that aliens have landed on the roof; the kids fight back with homemade traps to protect the adults.

Is Aliens in the Attic a family movie?

Yes, it is a PG-rated family comedy built around kid-versus-alien slapstick, which is why it still finds new viewers more than a decade later.