Academy award-winning director Peter Jackson's epic fantasy King Kong opened in cinemas nationwide on Wednesday and achieved a record-breaking opening day.

Ticket sales for the US$200mil (RM760mil) blockbuster, which opened in Malaysia simultaneously with the United States and the rest of world, sold at a fast and feverish pace, the Star reported today.

On opening night, cinemas in major cities and towns throughout the country arranged dedicated queues for King Kong as Malaysians turned out in droves to watch the most anticipated film of the year.

The film's outstanding first-day figures in Malaysia of RM965,200, according to Variety magazine, have earned it a host of local box-office records, including Universal International Pictures' and the local industry's biggest opening day as well as being the number one film in the market.