| Director | Barry Sonnenfeld |
|---|---|
| Budget | $90 million |
| Box office | $589.4 million |
In the mid-1950s, the Men in Black (MIB) organization was founded. After secretly making first contact with extraterrestrials in 1961, this small, albeit underfunded government agency becomes fully independent and secret. The MIB designates Earth as a neutral zone for alien refugees who live in secret among humans. Agents monitor alien activity and use memory-erasing neuralyzer devices to maintain secrecy.
In 1997, MIB agents K and D disrupt a border patrol operation at the Mexico–United States border to capture a disguised alien. When it becomes violent, K dispatches it and neuralyzes the patrol officers. D, feeling too old to continue, asks K to neuralyze him so he can retire.
Soon after, NYPD officer James Darrell Edwards III apprehends a suspect, unaware that he is an alien; he warns of a coming threat before committing suicide. K, impressed by James' performance, recruits him into the MIB. After completing a series of tests, James becomes Agent J and his previous identity is erased from public records.
Meanwhile, a hostile alien known as a "Bug" crash-lands in upstate New York. It murders a farmer named Edgar and uses his deboned corpse as a disguise. K and J, tipped off by a tabloid news article, question Edgar's wife. They learn that the Bug has murdered two aliens who were living on Earth in disguise. Their bodies, along with their pet cat, are sent to a morgue overseen by coroner Doctor Laurel Weaver.
At the morgue, the alien tells J and Laurel that "the galaxy is on Orion's Belt" before dying. After neuralyzing Laurel, K identifies the alien as Gentle Rosenberg, a prince from the Arquillian Empire. K and J visit Frank the Pug, an alien informant, who explains that Rosenberg was protecting a miniature galaxy. The galaxy is a powerful energy source that the Bug wants to use to destroy the Arquillians. An Arquillian warship soon arrives in Earth's orbit and demands that the MIB return the galaxy or they will destroy the planet.
J and the Bug both realize the galaxy is on the collar of Rosenberg's cat, Orion, which is now with Laurel; the latter captures her and seizes the galaxy. As the Arquillians prepare to destroy Earth to stop the Bug, the MIB locks down all transportation. J guesses the Bug will head to the New York State Pavilion, where the MIB hid flying saucers during the 1964-65 World's Fair.
At the site, the Bug tries to escape with Laurel, but she briefly breaks free. K and J shoot down the ship, which crash-lands in Corona Park. The Bug sheds its disguise, revealing its true appearance and swallowing the agents' weapons. K allows himself to be eaten so he can retrieve his weapon from inside. J distracts the Bug until K shoots it apart from within; Laurel uses J's gun to vanquish it.
After returning the galaxy to the Arquillians, K reveals that he was training J to take his place. J neuralyzes him so he can retire. Later, J continues his work with Laurel, who has joined the MIB as Agent L.
A long zoom-out shot reveals that the universe is contained in a marble, with which an unknown alien plays with before putting it away.