"Fifty Shades of Grey" was already on track for a huge box office haul, but the S&M-tinged book adaptation exceeded prognosticators' wildest expectations, breaking several records along the way.

After the four-day holiday weekend, "Fifty Shades" is estimated to have pulled in $94.4 million domestically, a whopping total that far outpaces the previous four-day holiday weekend champ, "Valentine's Day," which nabbed $63.1 million back in 2010. And its $85 million three-day haul (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) beat out Mel Gibson's 2004 epic "The Passion of the Christ" ($83.3 million) as the biggest February opening ever.

Those receipts also gave "Fifty Shades" the third-highest-grossing opening weekend ever for an R-rated movie. And overseas, the numbers were equally impressive: The flick nabbed $158 million in 58 countries over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, making it the highest R-rated debut ever in foreign markets. "Fifty Shades" also grossed an estimated $14 million overseas on Monday, bumping up its international total to $172 million.

"This was unchartered territory," said Universal domestic distribution chief Nicholas Carpou in a statement. "We created a perfect storm for Valentine's Day weekend, and made a movie that was accessible to the widest audience. And the marketing campaign really empowered people to see the film."

"Fifty Shades of Grey," directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and based on the series by E.L. James, stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.

[via: The Hollywood Reporter]

Photo credit: Universal