Numerobis arrives in Gaul and convinces Getafix to embark with him to Alexandria. He and his secretary Papyris discuss the druid Getafix (Panoramix in the original French), whose potion empowers its drinkers and Numerobis goes in search of him. To perform this task, Cleopatra hires the architect Numerobis, on pain of death and much to the dismay of Pyradonis, Cleopatra's customary architect. Infuriated by belittlements, Queen Cleopatra makes a deal with Julius Caesar: if the Egyptians build a palace at Alexandria, in three months, which is larger than Caesar's palace in Rome he must acknowledge that Egypt was the greatest of nations. The version released on DVD in the Australia by Madman Entertainment contains two discs, one the original French version (with multiple language subtitles) and the other the Miramax edit. The English language subtitles for other markets are a straight translation of the French dialogue, with only the names changed to match the original English translation of the album. This is most notable among minor characters the pirate crew, for example, are referred to by the names of famous rock and roll musicians (including John, Paul, George and Ringo) just before a cry of 'let's rock and roll!' The dubbed dialogue uses some of the original English names, but the rest are either reused from the American English translation of the original album, or newly invented names. This pun was already hinted at in the French version the actor playing Edifis used his distinctive North-African accent to create a subtle confusion between 'droid' and 'druid'), and some changes in characterisation, most notably Obelix who appears far more intelligent than usual. The English script added many new jokes for the American audience, including more references to modern popular culture (Edifis continually calls Getafix a ' droid', for example. Miramax Films re-edited the film for an North American audience, cutting approximately 21 minutes and dubbing the movie into English using an American cast.

A critical success, it was also a major box office success in France, becoming its most successful film in 36 years and second biggest commercial success of all time after 1966's La Grande Vadrouille. It was the most expensive French movie at that time, before being beaten by A Very Long Engagement two years later. Christian Clavier and Gérard Depardieu reprise their roles as Asterix and Obelix, alongside newcomers Jamel Debbouze, Monica Bellucci, Claude Rich, Gérard Darmon, Édouard Baer, Dieudonné, and Chabat himself.

Asterix and obelix: mission cleopatra