Disney's theme park sequel opened to an astounding $132 million -- a full $17 million ahead of the previous three-day weekend record set by "Spider-Man."

It even beat the four-day weekend title previously held by "X-Men: the Last Stand," which took $122.9 million over the Memorial Day frame.

Johnny Depp starrer set records every day. On Friday, its $55.5 million gross was the biggest single day in B.O. history. By Saturday, its $100.2 million take was the biggest ever two-day gross and made pic the first to break the $100 million barrier in 48 hours.

Saturday's $44.7 million gross was $100,000 off from the best-ever Saturday gross of $44.8 million, drawn by "Shrek 2" in 2004.

Despite setting sail at an ultrawide 4,133 theaters, "Pirates" averaged an amazing $31,945 per play -- the biggest ever for a film in wide release.

Pic also helped establish a new ceiling for the overall market; "Pirates" led the way to a record breaking weekend for the industry of $217 million, according to Nielsen EDI. That crushes the previous record of $188 million, set in June 2004, when "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" opened.

Boffo take was so far ahead of previous records that it upended many industryites' estimates of how much a film could gross in a single weekend.

"This was really made possible by the new megaplexes, where the exhibitors found a way to make auditoriums available when they saw the lines," said Disney distribution prexy Chuck Viane.

Frame was up an amazing 46% compared to a year ago, and took the 2006 box office from a 3% lead last weekend up to 5% over 2005.

Online ticketers Fandango and MovieTickets.com both set single-day sales records on Friday thanks to "Pirates."

Saturday gross was down a bit from Friday, a fact the studio attributed to the $9 million the film took from midnight shows on its opening day.

Clearly establishing itself as the blockbuster of the year, "Pirates" has already grossed more than "Superman Returns" did in its first 10 days and "X-Men: the Last Stand" in its first five.

"Pirates" played virtually evenly to all audience segments as matinees were packed with families and latenight shows with adults.

"These are some of the best balanced crowds you've seen," said Viane. "Moviegoers of all types had an insatiable appetite to see this film."

According to exit polling by Fandango, women came out of "Pirates" with a somewhat more positive opinion of the film. But approximately two-thirds of both genders said they would "definitely recommend" the pic.

Predicting the future for "Pirates" is difficult since there's no model for such a huge opening. Viane admitted that even calculating the estimated Sunday gross of $31.8 million was difficult. Actual weekend take could end up several million dollars higher or lower.

But with no more tentpoles left this summer, the film seems to have a relatively wide berth to keep playing. Even if it falls at a normal rate for a blockbuster of around 50% per frame, it should easily surpass the $305 million domestic booty of the original "Pirates."

Assuming foreign grosses are healthy as well, the Mouse House will be well on its way to proving that its costly investment in two "Pirates" sequels shot simultaneously was wise.

Rather than crushing the competition, "Pirates" seemed to benefit other studios, as most films had relatively modest drops.

Only exception was last weekend's blockbuster bow, "Superman Returns," which fell a sizable 58% on its second frame to $21.9 million. After 12 days, cume is a healthy, though far from spectacular, $141.7 million.

Warner Bros. has to hope post-"Pirates" declines will soften if the franchise restart is to at least break $200 million domestic.

Last weekend's other wide release, "The Devil Wears Prada," fell a more modest 43%, coming in at No. 3 with $15.6 million. Fox's female-targeted counterprogrammer has already cumed a surprisingly strong $63.7 million.

"Pirates" wasn't the only good news for Disney. "Cars" continues to hold well, dropping only 29% and bringing its cume to $205.5 million, making it the fifth Pixar toon to break $200 million. If legs remain strong, "Cars" could end up with a domestic cume close to other Pixar hits such as "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters, Inc." despite a weaker opening.

Sony's "Click" fell 40% to $12 million and became the seventh Adam Sandler film to pass $100 million.

Smaller pix

In limited release, Warner Independent Pictures opened "A Scanner Darkly" to a very healthy $406,000 at 17 theaters, averaging $23,882 per play. Richard Linklater-helmed sci-fi adaptation expands to around 190 locations next weekend.

Miramax bowed soccer docu "Once in a Lifetime" to a decent $12,225 at one theater in New York.

ThinkFilm expanded "Strangers with Candy" from two to 21 playdates and took a solid $235,775, or $11,227 per play. Comedy Central series adaptation will grow to over 100 theaters next weekend.

"Wordplay" added another 30 playdates but grossed a weak $330,472 at 125 theater, averaging only $2,644. Though grosses are softening, cume for IFC and the Weinstein Co.'s docu is a relatively healthy $1.4 million.

Sony Pictures Classics expanded "Who Killed the Electric Car?" from eight to 19 locations and grossed a relatively weak $75,632, or $3,981 per play. Cume is $155,529.