Universal's Oppenheimer has become one of the biggest phenomenons of the summer box office. The Christopher Nolan-directed film, despite being in theaters for just over two weeks, has already shattered several major Hollywood records. Now, Oppenheimer has become the highest-grossing World War II film of all time

According to the most recent projections, Oppenheimer has brought in $559 million at the worldwide box office. This surpasses the previous record-holder, Dunkirk, a 2017 film which told the story of the Dunkirk Evacuation during the Battle of France, which generated $527 million globally. It's unlikely that the creative team behind Dunkirk will fret at being knocked down, though – that film was also directed by Nolan, and also featured Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy.

Oppenheimer's new title also means that the 1998 Steven Spielberg-directed classic, Saving Private Ryan, moves into third place on the World War II genre list with $482 million. This figure, though, is unadjusted for inflation, and Saving Private Ryan – which featured Oppenheimer co-star Matt Damon – would actually be number one if inflation was factored in.

While Oppenheimer is still trailing behind in the "Barbenheimer" battle, its phenomenon counterpart – Barbie – has generated more than $1 billion in the same amount of time, the project has undoubtedly secured its place in war film history. Oppenheimer was filmed for IMAX cameras, and its impressive display on the massive screen has helped it become one of the most successful IMAX films in recent memory. It has garnered more than $114 million on IMAX alone, and its cash haul even prompted an extended run of the film in 70mm IMAX on the 30 screens worldwide that can play this format.

Oppenheimer Has Benefited From a Massive Marketing Ploy

Oppenheimer's box office success is hardly a surprise, given that it has been significantly hyped up due to its ensemble cast and auteur Nolan behind the camera. The film follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Murphy), who was tasked with leading the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb during World War II. Oppenheimer must learn to work with a hard-nosed team of scientists, as well as Leslie Groves (Damon), to complete the testing of the bomb so that it may be used against Japan to end the war.

Beyond Murphy and Damon, the film features an ensemble cast of Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Jason Clarke, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and many more. Nolan directed the film from a screenplay he wrote himself, and also produced the film through his Syncopy banner alongside his wife, Emma Thomas, and Atlas Entertainment's Charles Roven. Nolan is known for his meticulous scripts that typically feature very minute details, with Murphy telling Collider it was "one of the best screenplays I've ever read, without a doubt." Due to overwhelming interest, the screenplay was released online for purchase, where it is already selling out.

Oppenheimer is in theaters now. Collider's interview with Murphy can be seen below: