| Men in Black II | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | Robert Gordon |
| Based on | The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $140 million[1] |
| Box office | $441.8 million[1] |
Men in Black II (stylized as MIIB) is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in association with MacDonald Parkes Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the sequel to Men in Black (1997) and the second installment in the Men in Black film series. The film was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro, and it stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, with Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub, and Rip Torn in supporting roles. It featured Michael Jackson's last theatrical film appearance before his death in 2009. In the film, the emergence of an assumed subdued alien threat reunites Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones) and James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith).
Development for a sequel film began following the box office success of the original; Jones, Smith, and Sonnenfeld's returns were confirmed by 2001, and David Koepp was initially hired to write the screenplay. Koepp then left production to work on Spider-Man (2002) and was replaced with Gordon, who developed the script and story further. Fanaro was later brought in to perform some final rewrites to Gordon's treatment. Principal photography began on June 11, 2001 and lasted until that September, taking place primarily in New York City; filming was delayed and several scenes were reworked following the September 11 attacks that month. The film's soundtrack contained the theme song "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", performed by Smith. Aside from this song, composer Danny Elfman, who scored the first film, returned to compose its sequel.
Men in Black II premiered at Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles on June 26, 2002, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3 of that same year. It received generally mixed reviews from critics, who deemed it inferior to its predecessor, but praised Jones's and Smith's performances and action sequences. Nonetheless, it was a financial success, grossing $441.8 million worldwide and becoming the fifth-highest grossing film of 2002. Its sequel, Men in Black 3, was released in 2012 to a critical and commercial incline.