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Goldmember scored a record setting $71.5 million for the weekend and averaged $19,776 per theater, the most for any wide release playing this weekend. Its four day cume is $75 million, including $3.5 million in preview ticket sales last Thursday at about 2,400 theaters.

The weekend's other big opening was much smaller, but equally dazzling -- Focus Features' launch of The Kid Stays In the Picture, the true story of legendary Hollywood producer and studio executive Robert Evans. Kid kicked off at 4 theaters in New York and Los Angeles to a sizzling $88,799 or $22,200 per theater, the weekend's biggest per theater average for any film in the marketplace.

"We've gotten 23 out of 25 excellent reviews, which is quite a remarkable number," Evans told me Sunday morning from New York. "I was down at the theater and the demographics are interesting -- from 16 to 80. There were kids there who were 16, 17 and 18 years old. And each (showing) has gotten applause at the end. People are saying they're going to go back to see it again. Yesterday (the gross) was much bigger than Friday."

For more of my conversation with Evans, please see the "Other Openings" report below.

Last weekend's top two films both held well despite Goldmember's tremendous opening. The Road To Perdition finished second, off only 29 percent with $11 million. Stuart Little 2 was a close third, also down just 29 percent with $10.7 million.

Men In Black II took fourth place with $8.7 million and a cume of $173.6 million. K-19: The Widowmaker plunged 43 percent and sank to fifth place with $7.3 million.

The weekend's other wide opening, The Country Bears had nothing to laugh about in sixth place with $5.2 million.

Key films -- those grossing $500,000 or more -- took in $144.8 million, down nearly 3 percent from last year's $149.1 million.

THE TOP TEN

New Line's PG-13 rated comedy sequel Austin Powers in Goldmember opened powerfully in first place to an ESTIMATED $71.45 million at 3,613 theaters ($19,776 per theater). Its cume after four days (including previews last Thursday night) is approximately $75.0 million.

Goldmember's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.

Directed by Jay Roach, it stars Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles and Michael Caine.

"It's the biggest July opening ever," New Line distribution president David Tuckerman said Sunday morning. "It beats Planet of the Apes (which this weekend last year set a new July opening record with $68.5 million). It's the biggest comedy opening ever. It beats Rush Hour 2, which was $67.4 million (the weekend of Aug. 3-5, 2001). It's the biggest New Line opening ever (again beating Rush Hour 2). It's the biggest Mike Myers opening ever (beating $54.9 million for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me the weekend of June 11-13, 1999). It's the seventh highest all time opener and the fourth biggest three day opener."

Why did Goldmember do so well? "I think you have a comedic genius in Mike Myers," Tuckerman replied. "You've got a terrific director (in Jay Roach) who knows what to do with comedy. This is the funniest one (in the franchise so far). The beginning part of it with the cameos (by superstars) -- the audience just gasps.

"We still have 9/11 hanging over our heads. The economy's in the toilet. People want to laugh. People want to go someplace for two hours and just laugh and forget about everything. This picture would have been enormous anyway, but I just think they want to go someplace and have a good time for two hours and not worry about the economy and the 9/11 stuff. Its the right picture at the right time."

Another factor in the film's favor was New Line's choice of what turned out to be the perfect release date. "We had experience (with this timing) last year with Rush Hour 2. Basically, this picture's going to run through August. Our experience showed us there's still summer dollars in August. We got (past) most of the really big, glossy high grossing pictures from the beginning of the summer and this sort of leaves (Goldmember) by itself. We were the third highest profile film of the summer going in -- after Spider-Man and after Star Wars."

Goldmember will also benefit from the fact that neither of the two highest profile August openings are comedies. Buena Vista/Touchstone's Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Mel Gibson, opens Aug. 2 and is a supernatural thriller. Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures' XXX, directed by Rob Cohen and starring Vin Diesel, opens Aug. 9 and is an action adventure espionage thriller.