The sequel is again loaded with eye-popping special effects

The film is the second part in brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski's Matrix trilogy, the tale of a group of freedom fighters who travel into a digital world to battle machines that have enslaved the Earth.

The previous record holder for opening-day takings in the United States was Spider-Man, which raked in $39.4m in the summer of 2002.

Spider-Man also holds the record for its $114.8m takings on its opening weekend, but box office watchers are predicting that The Matrix Reloaded will beat this too.

This sets a new benchmark for what an R-rated film can do at the box office Paul Dergarabedian, President Exhibitor Relations Co

The new film debuted in a handful of cinemas on Wednesday and expanded to thousands of screens on Thursday.

"Obviously it's a little early but everybody is very happy," said Dan Fellman, head of US distribution for Warner Brothers.

Restricted audience

The success of The Matrix Reloaded is made even greater by the fact that in the US it has been given a R-rating - or Restricted for violence and sexuality - meaning that children aged 17 and younger are not supposed to see it without a parent or adult guardian.

The previous record for an opening weekend by an R-rated film was $58m for Hannibal.

The Matrix Reloaded debuted in more than 20 countries

"It's quite a spectacular gross, only twice have films earned over $40 million in a single day," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracing company Exhibitor Relations.

"This sets a new benchmark for what an R-rated film can do at the box office," he added.

The Matrix Reloaded opened its run in more than 20 countries simultaneously and by the end of its third week it will be showing in more than 100 countries.

Warner Bros is reported to have spent $300m on making The Matrix Reloaded and the final chapter in the trilogy The Matrix Revolutions, which will open in November.

News of the record was announced by Richard Parsons, president of AOL Time Warner, at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Landsdowne, Virginia, on Friday.

The company is expecting a successful year at the cinema - aside from the Matrix films the company is also debuting Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine in just a few weeks.