Fifty Shades of Grey, the widely anticipated adaptation of the best-selling novel about a kinky relationship between a businessman and a college student, took in $81.7 million in ticket sales to soar to the top of US and Canadian weekend box office charts.

The film, which stars James Dornan and Dakota Johnson as the libidinous couple, far outpaced the No. 2 release, Kingsman: The Secret Service, which took in $35.6 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates.

Third place on the US Presidents’ Day holiday weekend went to the family-friendly The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, based on the popular television show about a talking animated sponge, which sold $30.5 million in tickets at US and Canadian theatres.

Fifty Shades got a boost from a Valentine’s Day opening after it was released earlier in the week in 57 foreign markets. It took in an additional $158 million overseas, for a global total of $240 million.

Early US screenings on Thursday night brought in $8.6 million, setting the scene for a record-breaking opening for any Presidents’ Day weekend.

Kingsman, an adaptation of a popular comic series starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Firth about a spy agency’s training programme and a global threat by a tech genius, received solid reviews and exceeded industry forecasts.

Rounding out the top five, the box office hit American Sniper took in $16.4 million, bringing its domestic haul to just over $304 million and making it one of the biggest hits of 2014-15. The Clint Eastwood-directed film is nominated for six Oscars, including one for Bradley Cooper as best actor.

The sci-fi film Jupiter Ascending was fifth in line with $9.4 million.