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).
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