Plot
Ten-year-old Walter and six-year-old Danny are two brothers who do not get along with each other or their teenage sister, Lisa. While their father is away at work and Lisa is napping, Danny discovers an old science fiction-themed board game called Zathura in the basement. When he starts playing, the game produces a card that warns of a meteor shower.
After a meteor shower strikes the house, Walter and Danny realize the game has affected their reality: they are now adrift in outer space. Lisa, thinking she overslept due to the dark sky, prepares to go out but is put in cryonic sleep, freezing her. The brothers learn that they must finish the game to return to earth and restore normalcy.
As they continue playing, Walter and Danny confront the dangers presented by the game, including a faulty robot, passing too close to a star, and an attack by a race of reptilian aliens known as Zorgons. During one of Danny's turns, an astronaut appears and instructs them to methodically eliminate the house's heat sources, since the Zorgons are attracted to heat. The astronaut distracts the Zorgons' ship by setting the couch on fire and ejecting it from the house.
Walter demands that the astronaut leave, but Danny lets him stay. Growing increasingly agitated, Walter accuses Danny of cheating by moving his piece when Walter wasn't looking. Walter wrenches Danny's piece backwards and tries to take his turn, but the game reacts as if he was cheating and ejects him from the house, forcing the astronaut to rescue him.
Danny apologizes to Walter, but Walter does not forgive him. On Walter's next turn, he draws a card that grants him a wish, sparking another heated argument between the boys. The astronaut fears that Walter is about to wish Danny out of existence and flies into a panic, but Walter instead wishes for a signed American football. When questioned by the brothers, the astronaut reveals that he and his own brother played Zathura as children. After an argument, the astronaut wished his brother out of existence; this left him stranded in space forever, since the game cannot be completed without a second player. Upon hearing this, Danny and Walter finally set aside their differences.
Lisa awakens from her stasis and turns up the heat, still unaware of the situation. The Zorgons return and dock their ships at the house. Lisa finally realizes the predicament, and the foursome hides, only to discover they have left the game behind. Danny finds the game aboard one of the Zorgon ships, but is spotted by the Zorgons. When the robot begins to attack the brothers, Walter uses a "reprogram" card he had drawn earlier to fix it. It then turns on the Zorgons, causing them to retreat.
Walter receives another wish card and uses it to bring back the astronaut's brother, who turns out to be Danny. This reveals that the astronaut is an older version of Walter from an alternative timeline. The astronaut praises his alternative self for making a better choice than he did. As the timeline shifts, he and the alternative Danny merge with their counterparts.
The Zorgons return to the house with a large fleet, intent on destroying it. When Danny wins the game, it is revealed that Zathura is a black hole, which consumes the Zorgons' fleet and the house. The siblings find themselves back in the house before starting the game, just as their father returns home. The brothers finally bond and promise each other and Lisa not to tell anyone about the game and their adventure.
.jpg?width=400){kind=small}
