Casino Royale, the 21st James Bond film, took £1.7m on its opening day in the UK, distributor Columbia Pictures has said.
According to Columbia Pictures, this figure is more than any other film in the popular 007 franchise.
Die Another Day, which is now the second highest earning Bond film, generated nearly £850,000 on its opening day back in 2002.
Casino Royale, based on the first of Ian Fleming's popular spy novels, will open in the US, Canada and Russia on Friday.
The film sees Daniel Craig play the role of James Bond and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen play the role of 007's nemesis Le Chiffre.
Craig, who was chosen to replace Pierce Brosnan in the 007 role last year, has faced criticism from a small section of James Bond fans.
But early media reviews have praised his polished and complex performance.
Other stars with a role in the film include Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino and Jesper Christensen.
Directed by Martin Campbell, Casino Royale had its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square on Tuesday night.
Craig, 38, is the sixth actor to play the super-spy after Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
Die Another Day, directed by Lee Tamahori, went onto take just over $420m (£223m) at the global box office.
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