'Spider-Man' breaks 1-day record in North America

LOS ANGELES, May 5 (Reuters) ''Spider-Man 3'' sold a record 59 million dollars worth of tickets during its first day of release across North America, and is on track to break the industry mark for an opening weekend, according to estimates issued on Saturday by the film's distributor.

The highly anticipated superhero saga opened in the United States and Canada on Friday, having already begun it international campaign on May 1.

The North American one-day and opening-weekend records were held by Walt Disney Co's July 2006 smash ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,'' with respective sums of 55.8 million dollars and 135.6 million dollars.

''Based on the first day's performance, the studio believes the film will deliver in the range of 135 million dollars to 145 million dollars in North America for its first three days of release,'' Columbia Pictures said in a statement.

The Sony Corp-owned studio will issue three-day estimates early on Sunday.

The first ''Spider-Man,'' released in 2002, earned 39.4 million dollars on its first day, 114.8 million dollars on its first weekend, and 403 million dollars by the end of its North American run. Two years later, ''Spider-Man 2'' finished with 3 million. It opened on a Wednesday -- rather than the traditional Friday -- with 40.4 million dollars, and earned 88.2 million dollars during the subsequent weekend.

Overseas business is similarly brisk, with Friday sales estimated at 45 million dollars. A Columbia spokesman did not have information on the foreign earnings to date.

All three films star Tobey Maguire as the web-slinging crime fighter, and Kirsten Dunst as his girlfriend. Sam Raimi directed the trilogy.

REUTERS SM RAI2247