Sylvester Stallone's latest adaption of the "Rocky" franchise opened with a pre-Thanksgiving Tuesday night, record-setting box office showing of $1.4 million.

Variety magazine reports New Line-MGM's "Creed" slugged its way to an early industry record and is now projected to pull in somewhere in the neighborhood of a whopping $35 million over the five-day holiday period.

Showing in 3,550 theaters, the flick stars Stallone and Michael B. Jordan as the son of arch-enemy-turned-friend Apollo Creed.

Reviews for "Creed" have likewise been stellar, with the film recently netting a 93-percent "fresh" rating on "Rotten Tomatoes. The Thanksgiving movie scene is typically one of the most active for moviegoers here in the U.S.

Carl Weathers originally starred as Apollo Creed and his two fights with Rocky over the course of the frankchise's seven adaptions are among the series most memorable all-time moments.

Apollo later died in the ring after coming out of retirement to face Russian champion Ivan Drago in what was billed as a friendly exhibition. As the slaughter played out, Apollo made trainer Rocky promise not to stop the fight... no matter what. His death prompted Rocky to come out of retirement and avenge his death by taking on the Russian giant.

Weathers recently tweeted his approval for the performance turned in by Jordan, exclaiming, "You did well for the CREED name."

Overall, Time magazine raves of the film in its review, "Like 'Rocky,' a smash that spawned 1,000 sequels, 'Creed' mingles go-for-broke romance with bloody pugilist thrills-but instead of feeling like a rehash, it works like gangbusters."

The premise of $35 million, Warner Brothers film centers on Rocky agreeing to train the young Creed. The film also stars Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Anthony Bellew, Ritchie Coster, Jacob "Stich" Duran and Graham McTavish.