Oppenheimer bags major box office record as Christopher Nolan drama rakes in $500m+

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is now officially the highest-grossing WWII film of all time.

In figures estimated by Universal Pictures, it is now believed that the Cillian Murphy-led thriller has raked in an incredible $552.9 million globally.

The figure exceeds the previous record set by another of Nolan's feature-length war stories.

According to IMDb's Box Office Mojo, Oppenheimer sailed past the previous record of $527million set by Dunkirk.

It also leaves the likes of Saving Private Ryan ($482m) and Pearl Harbor ($449m) in its wake as it resides in the top spot.

While Oppenheimer's already a success in its own genre, the film also bagged another accolade when it comes to its classification.

Oppenheimer is the highest-grossing R-rated movie of the year and the fastest R-rated film from Universal to hit the $200m mark Stateside.

And the accolades don't stop there given the film's nature as a biopic about Manhattan Project physicist J Robert Oppenheimer.

It's therefore only the fourth biopic to surpass the $500m mark following in the footsteps of Bohemian Rhapsody, Passion of the Christ, and American Sniper.

An undoubted success for Nolan and co, news of Oppenheimer's record-breaking escapades come at the same time its box office rival Barbie also recorded ground-breaking feats.

The Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-fronted flick surpassed a jaw-dropping $1billion at the box office less than a month after its release.

The film, which alongside Oppenheimer sparked the 'Barbenheimer' frenzy seen across the globe, marked a new record for a movie directed by solely a female director.

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Greta Gerwig directed Barbie which stars an A-list cast including the likes of Michael Cera, Will Ferrell, Issa Rae, and many others alongside Gosling and Robbie.

Addressing Barbie's billion-dollar success story, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, Co-Chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros said: "A massive achievement like this is possible when you have an incredible filmmaking team, with cast and crew coming together to create a truly special moviegoing experience.

"Along with our partners at Mattel, and with the support of the entire Warner Bros. Discovery family, we are thrilled that audiences the world over are embracing the ‘Barbie’ movie in such a profound way.

"With ‘Barbie’ becoming the biggest film at the summer box office, Greta now joins an elite group of writer/directors whose singular vision has generated $1 billion at the global box office, a milestone that is a testament to her brilliance and to her commitment to deliver a movie that Barbie fans of every age want to see on the big screen."