LONDON (Reuters) – The new James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace," debuted in Britain on Friday to record one-day ticket sales of 4.94 million pounds ($8 million), distributor Columbia Pictures said on Saturday.

The total tops "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the previous record holder with an opening day haul of 4.025 million pounds ($6.5 million) in 2005, and it also beat the 2.9 million pounds ($4.72 million) first-day total for the last Bond flick, "Casino Royale" (2006), Columbia said.

In "Quantum of Solace," British super spy Bond (Daniel Craig) is on a mission across South America and Europe to stop an eco-terrorist from controlling precious natural resources, and he wants to learn why the woman he loved in "Casino Royale" betrayed him.

"Casino Royale," was a huge box office success with a global haul of $594 million.

Friday's British opening of "Quantum of Solace" in 542 theaters will be followed by a November 14 debut of the film in the United States and Canada.

Columbia Pictures is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, the media wing of Japan's Sony Corp.

Source: REUTERS