Spurred by rave reviews and a torrent of buzz, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" took in a record-breaking $66 million in its first day in release.

According to early estimates from Exhibitor Relations, the Batman sequel's $66 million topped the previous record for single-day gross held by "Spiderman 3," which had a $59.8 million day last summer.

That total includes the $18.5 million "The Dark Knight" tallied from midnight and early morning Friday screenings, also a record.

"The Dark Knight" appears to be on track for a $155 million opening weekend, which would break the three-day record set by "Spider-Man 3" when it premiered to $151 million.

Although the showdown between Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger scooped up the vast majority of the box office lucre, "Mamma Mia!" was on track to score as counter-programming, making more than $9.6 million in its first day.