"Casino Royale" has smashed the box office record for the opening night of a Bond movie in Britain, figures released Friday showed.

The film, starring Daniel Craig in his debut as the 007 agent, took 1.7 million pounds ($3.2 million) at its general release across the country.

Distributors said the figure shattered the previous high for the series set by "Die Another Day", which took 1.1 million pounds on its opening night in 2002.

"Casino Royale", which received a glittering royal premiere last Tuesday, is based on Ian Fleming's first novel to feature Bond, published in 1953.