'Spider-Man' Opens With Record $114M

The big-screen adaptation of the comic book super-hero "Spider-Man" scaled new box office heights over the weekend, and obliterated the all-time three-day opening box office record set by "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the process.

According to the Hollywood Reporter online, the film pulled in an estimated $114 million in ticket sales in 3,615 locations from Friday to Sunday. By contrast, "Harry Potter" (interactive coverage) earned $90.3 million in its opening weekend in November.

Fans can forget about wondering whether or not there will be a sequel to "Spider-Man" -- that deal was done weeks ago. Director Sam Raimi was the final principal player signed onto the sequel, in which Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst will reprise their roles as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Mary Jane, respectively.

All indications were already in place Saturday that "Spider-Man" was going to set box office history. It made an estimated $39 million in its first day alone, again beating the record set by Potter. In addition to its opening-day, "Spider-Man's" $43.7 million take Saturday far-outdistanced "Potter's" one-day record. Also set on a Saturday, "Potter's" record stood at $33.5 million for one day.

With its opening tally, "Spider-Man" also became the first film to reach the $100 million mark in three days.

The astounding $114 million tally raises the bar for the second "Star Wars" prequel "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," which opens May 16.

The No. 1 movie for the last two weeks, "The Scorpion King" (review) dropped to second place with an estimated take of $9.6 million. The Samuel L. Jackson-Ben Affleck thriller "Changing Lanes" (review) came in third place with an estimated $5.6 million in ticket sales.

Rounding out the top five were the Sandra Bullock murder mystery "Murder by Numbers" (review) and the Dennis Quaid family baseball dramedy "The Rookie" (review), with an estimated $3.8 million and $3.3 million in ticket sales, respectively.

The weekend's other two new films, placed in the lower half of the top 10. The drama "Deuces Wild" pulled in an estimated $2.7 million for the seventh slot, while the Woody Allen comedy "Hollywood Ending" (review) came in at No. 10 with an estimated $2.2 million in ticket sales.