`Men in Black' sets box office record

The sci-fi action comedy Men In Black has broken British box office records in its opening weekend, makers Columbia Tristar claimed yesterday. The film starring Will Smith (left) and Tommy Lee Jones as men "protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe", took pounds 7,066,748 at the turnstiles up to Sunday night.

That figure beat the previous record holder, Independence Day, in which Smith also starred, last summer which made pounds 7,005,905 over the same period. However, Columbia Tristar's figures included Thursday previews - and Men In Black opened early at more than 300 screens around the country.