According to Variety, Spider-Man 3 will set new records when it opens in 4,253 North American theaters. That's the single largest U.S. debut of all time. Who the heck is going to fill all of those empty chairs? Easy enough to answer. You are.

The movie has already opened in Japan, France, Germany, Italy and South Korea. On Tuesday, Spidey managed to swing in and grab $3.47 million dollars (about 451 Yen) from the honorable citizens of Japan. A dollar amount that put the smack-down on Spider-Man 2's opening day grosses.

Spider-Man 3 also beat out its predecessors in Korea with a $3.44 million bow. Hong Kong saw its biggest opening day grosses ever when Peter Parker's alter ego nabbed $958,984 from that country's citizens. The number tally beat Hong Kong's previous record breaker Kung Fu Hustle.

Basically, what we're trying to say is, the latest in the Spider-Man franchise is doing some dang-fine business all around the planet.

When the highly anticipated comic book adaptation finally hits North America, it should continue to do spectacular ticket sales. Only a few other films have opened on more than 4,000 screens (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Madagascar, Superman Returns), and all of those were released after 2004. Hollywood really needs to have those opening weekend dollars go up, and that has never been more apparent than now.

Spider-Man 3 is the first film to usher in this year's summer movie season. In the following weeks we will also see Shrek the Third, which opens on May 18th. And Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which opens on May 25th. The box office is going to blow up. Spidey's only real foe is Snoop Dogg and his Hood of Horror.

12:01 am shows have been added in North America to meet the demand of fans. Spider-Man 3 opens May 4th.