Burbank (CA) - Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight set a new one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day. The latest Batman movie surpassed the previous record set by Spider-Man 3.

According to Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman, The Dark Knight broke the record for a 12:01 a.m. film opening, hauling in $18,489,000 for the first showings alone (the previous record holder Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith brought $16.9 million).

On its first day, The Dark Knight earnings added up to $66.4 million, sailing past the $59.8 million record set by Spider-Man 3 last year.

It is widely expected that The Dark Knight will also break Spider-Man 3's opening-weekend record of $151.1 million. Spider-Man 3 grossed $373 million at the worldwide box office in its first six days of release.

"We have been thrilled by the response to The Dark Knight, first from the critics and now from audiences. From our earliest screenings, the buzz on the film has been white hot and it hasn't let up," Fellman said.