<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> Total (2 films): $230 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> Total (2 films): $804.9 million </Td> </Tr> <P> National Treasure is a series of political theatrical adventure mystery films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Gates, a treasure hunter who, with the help of his father, Patrick Henry Gates (Jon Voight), his girlfriend, Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) and his loyal sidekick, Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), uncovers hidden troves and secrets from U.S. history . The films were distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . There are also a series of novels detailing the ancestors of Ben Gates, all written by Catherine Hapka . </P> <P> The original National Treasure film centers on the Gates family legend of a fantastic treasure trove of artifacts and gold, hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States, and the attempts by the scion of the family, Benjamin Franklin Gates, to find the treasure before his ex-friend, Ian Howe, steals and destroys the Declaration of Independence . </P>

Is the movie national treasure based on a book