That was enough to sail past the previous record-holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which bowed to $55.8M in its first day last July which led to a record $135.6M opening weekend gross. The new webslinger adventure beat the old mark by 6% and powered 18% ahead of the next largest first-day performance, $50M by 2005's Star Wars Episode III. With multiple screens at most theaters, those two blockbusters entered the market with print counts of 8,500 and 9,400, respectively. Sony would not disclose the print count for Spider-Man 3, but given the otherwise dead marketplace and the increased availability of screens, industry insiders believe the count to be 10,000 or more.

The new Venom flick also powered past the $39.4M opening day of the first Spider-Man (which debuted on this same weekend in 2002) by a stellar 50% and zoomed 46% past the $40.4M first-day bow of Spider-Man 2 which opened in July 2004. The first Spidey pic opened on a Friday with no night-before shows accounting for only 34% of its then-record $114.8M debut weekend. Its sequel bowed on a Wednesday (with midnight shows) ahead of a four-day Independence Day holiday frame making comparisons to the first and third installments of the franchise difficult.

As a much-hyped sequel, Spider-Man 3 is likely to see its Friday account for a more significant portion of its three-day opening frame. The Pirates sequel saw 41% of its opening weekend sales on Friday, however it was released in July when all students are out of school. Last summer's X-Men: The Last Stand, which catered to an audience similar to that of Spider-Man 3, generated a killer $45.1M or 44% of its $102.8M three-day opening on Friday. Most college students were on summer break by its late May bow, although the Memorial Day holiday also helped boost its Sunday tally past normal levels for that day.

Given the upfront demand, the strong Thursday night sales (many theaters even added extra showtimes at 3am), and the massive print count, Spider-Man 3 is likely to absorb a substantial portion of its weekend activity in the first day. Word-of-mouth will also affect its trajectory over the weekend. The Sandman story is certainly the least liked Spidey pic as far as critics are concerned, but fans seem to be giving higher marks. Dead Man's Chest got the same treatment last summer. The third webslinger film might be on a course to collect a record $140-150M over the Friday-to-Sunday period.

Sony also reported that Spider-Man 3 grossed an additional $45M overseas on Friday putting its global gross for that one day at $104M, another industry record.

The weekend's only other new release, the poker drama Lucky You starring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, was barely a blip on the radar and opened to an estimated $1M on Friday. The Warner Bros. release will try to reach $3M for the frame.

Among holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were 40% for Disturbia, 62% for The Invisible, and 61% for Next.

The top ten films surged to an estimated $67.7M on Friday which was up a jaw-dropping 124% from a year ago when Mission: Impossible III kicked off the summer at number one with $17M on its way to a weekend take of $47.7M.

For a NEW review of Spider-Man 3, visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Sunday night for the complete weekend box office report with official studio estimates.