The 22nd movie in the franchise - which sees Daniel Craig return as British superspy 007 following Casino Royale - smashed the record for a Bond film's opening with US$70.4 million (S$107.1 million), box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

The previous best opening for a Bond movie was the US$47 million earned by 2002's Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan.

The latest Bond film sees the British agent pick up where he left off in 2006's Casino Royale, seeking revenge against the criminals he holds responsible for the death of his lover.

James Bond's return to cinemas knocked last week's first place movie, animated children's film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa off top spot.

The film, featuring Ben Stiller and Chris Rock providing the voices for the wise-cracking zoo animals, was second with US$36.1 million.

The family-friendly sequel to the 2005 film takes up the tale of the former occupants of a New York City zoo, this time in the African savannah, where they discover their roots, romance and sneaky hunters.

In third place was comedy Role Models, starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott as slacker salesmen.

The film, in which two cynics have to perform community service as mentors to troubled youths, took in US$11.7 million, figures showed.

Disney's clean-cut High School Musical 3: Senior Year dropped to fourth spot with US$5.9 million on its fourth week of release.

Clint Eastwood's period drama Changeling, about a mother played by Angelina Jolie desperate to find her missing boy in 1920s Los Angeles, was in fifth with US$4.2 million.

Raunchy comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, about financially-strapped friends played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks who try to make a do-it-yourself pornographic movie but end up falling in love, was sixth with US$3.2 million.

Soul Men - starring Samuel Jackson and the late Bernie Mac as former soul singers reunited on a roadtrip for one last concert - dropped one place to seventh with US$2.42 million.

The Secret Life of Bees, the screen adaptation of the novel by Sue Monk Kidd, moved up one spot to eighth with US$2.4 million in earnings.

Horror flick Saw V finished ninth, earning US$1.8 million, and teen-slasher film The Haunting of Molly Hartley completed the top 10 with US$1.6 million. -- AFP