LOS ANGELES The new Batman film “The Dark Knight” soared over the North American box-office with a record-breaking opening weekend, eclipsing the previous all-time mark set by “Spider-Man 3,” industry estimates said Sunday.

The film, which features a mesmerizing performance from late Australian actor Heath Ledger as Batmans arch-rival the Joker, took an estimated 155.3 million dollars in ticket sales, Exhibitor Relations said.

That mark shattered the 151.1 million earned by “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007, a record that many pundits believed would not be beaten by “The Dark Knight.”Prior to “The Dark Knight,” “Spider-Man 3” had led the all-time opening weekend figures from 2006s “Pirates of the Caribbean 2” (135.6 million) and 2007s “Shrek the Third” (121.6 million).

Buzz has been building for weeks about director Christopher Nolans follow-up to 2005s “Batman Begins,” with several reviewers hailing Ledgers performance as worthy of a posthumous Oscar.

Midnight screenings of the film on Thursday across the United States and Canada were sold out days in advance, and cinemas reported huge queues of fans lining up for tickets to later screenings on Friday.

Starring British actor Christian Bale as Gotham Citys famous caped crusader, “The Dark Knight” cost around 180 million dollars and was shot on location in Chicago and Hong Kong.

Unusually for a superhero blockbuster, the movie has won near universal critical acclaim, with heavyweight reviewers praising its dark themes and performances of an all-star cast which also includes Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart.

“An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity, this is seriously brainy pop entertainment that satisfies every expectation raised by its hit predecessor and then some,” Daily Variety said in its review earlier this month.

However it is Ledgers performance as the cackling master criminal that has dominated the films pre-release.