Men in Black back on top

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith return to battle

The long-awaited sequel to the hugely successful Men in Black movie broke Independence Day holiday records as it shot to the top of the US box office.

Men in Black II, which reunites Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as government agents handling invasions from outer space, took about $54m (£35m) in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates.

The previous three-day record over the 4 July holidays was set by director Sonnenfeld's original movie in 1997, which achieved $51m (£33m) in its first three days.

Top five

1. Men in Black II

2. Mr Deeds

3. Like Mike

4. Lilo & Stitch

5. Minority Report

The movie tipped Adam Sandler's comedy Mr Deeds off the top spot, slipping to number two after one week.

Its second weekend saw takings hit $18.8m (£12.2m) over the weekend, pushing its total receipts up to $74m (£48m).

Two other new releases made it in to the top 10.

Sports fantasy movie Like Mike, which stars young Stuart Little actor Jonathan Lipnicki, grossed $13m (£8.4m)to place it at number three in the chart.

The Powerpuff Girls Movie - featuring the trio of fearless female cartoon crimefighters - took $3.6m (£2.3m) to put it at number nine in its debut weekend.

Disney animated comedy Lilo and Stitch slipped one place to number four as its total takings crossed the $100m (£65m) barrier by £3m.

Tom Cruise's futuristic action movie Minority Report fell three places to number five with a weekend tally of £12.7m (£8.2m), taking its three week total to $96.8m (£63.1m).