A day dedicated to Men in Black

Today, and May 18th annually, is MIB Day MIBの日 in Japan. A day dedicated to the "Men in Black" movies, which originally featured Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, which are hugely popular and successful in Japan.

The anniversary was established by Sony Pictures Entertainment, headquartered in Toranomon, Minato Ward, Tokyo. The date is a playful nod to the film series itself: the “M” in MIB corresponds to May, while the letters “I” and “B” resemble the numbers 1 and 8, forming May 18th. The company created this anniversary to commemorate the release of Men in Black: International, which premiered in the summer of 2019. That movie starred Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson.

The Men in Black franchise began with the 1997 American sci‑fi action film, which became a massive hit and ranked second in annual U.S. box‑office revenue. Its success led to two sequels with the original cast: Men in Black II in 2002 and Men in Black III in 2012. In the films, “MIB” refers to a secret organization responsible for monitoring and regulating alien activity on Earth. Men in Black: International expanded the universe by shifting the setting to a fictional London branch.