BACK IN BLACK

Five years after Men in Black grossed $250 million during its run, the sequel to the Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones hit smashed sales records in its first five days of release over the U.S. July 4 holiday weekend, taking in an estimated $90 million.

Men in Black II (Columbia), in which the duo play government alienbusters who save mankind from "the scum of the universe," pulled in $54.1 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, on top of its $35.9 million haul for Wednesday and Thursday.

The old three-day record for the July 4 holiday period was set by the 1997 original (also a Wednesday release), with $51.1 million. The film's five-day haul was $79.3 million, second to Smith's alien-adventure Independence Day, which had opened with $85 million one year earlier.

Meanwhile, the Adam Sandler comedy Mr. Deeds, which topped the rankings last weekend, slipped to No. 2 in its second round with $18.8 million for the three days, $26.3 million for the five days and $74.1 million to date.

It was also released by Columbia, which claimed about 50 percent of the weekend's receipts. With five No. 1 movies to date this year, led by the $400 million-grossing Spider-Man, the studio will beat its own speed record when it passes the $1 billion mark for domestic sales later this week; the old mark was set in 1997 when Columbia passed $1 billion in early September. Sony executives are also bullish about such upcoming films as Stuart Little 2 and the Vin Diesel vehicle XXX, acording to the Associated Press.

The top 10 contained two other new releases. The urban sports fantasy comedy Like Mike, starring teemage rapper Lil’ Bow Wow, opened at No. 3 with $13.1 million for Friday-to-Sunday, and $20.1 million since its Wednesday bow. The Powerpuff Girls Movie launched at No. 9 with a disappointing $3.6 million for the three days ($6.1 million since Wednesday).

Rounding out the top five, the Walt Disney Co. cartoon Lilo & Stitch slipped one place to No. 4 with a three-day haul of $12.7 million in its third weekend. Its total rose to $103.1 million. Fox's sci-fi thriller Minority Report fell three places to No. 5 with $12.4 million for the three-day weekend. The total for the Steven Spielberg-directed movie rose to $96.8 million, also after three weekends in theaters.