"Amazing Spider-Man" lights up box office on 1st day

Actor Andrew Garfield (R) and U.S. actress Emma Stone arrive for the French premiere of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in Paris June 19, 2012.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Amazing Spider-Man" lit up U.S. and Canadian box offices on its first day in movie theaters, catching $35 million in its sticky web and breaking a record for a Tuesday opening, distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment said on Wednesday.

Sony Pictures said the 3D movie's box office total, which included $4 million from giant Imax theater screens, broke the previous record of $27.8 million for a Tuesday debut held by the first "Transformers" film that opened on July 3, 2007.

The studio projects domestic ticket sales of $110 million to $120 million from Tuesday through Sunday, which encompasses Wednesday's Independence Day holiday in the United States.

But some box office watchers see totals of $125 million or more. After its 2007, opening "Transformers" went on to grab over $146 million in its first six days in domestic theaters, according to Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com Box Office.

Sony spent about $215 million to produce the highly-anticipated film, plus tens of millions more on marketing.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" reboots the modern film series that began with 2002's "Spider-Man" and over three movies netted around $2.5 billion at global box offices for its makers Marvel Studios and distributor Sony Pictures.

Sony Pictures is a division of Sony Corp and Marvel is part of The Walt Disney Co.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Marguerita Choy)