Dunkirk has become the highest grossing WWII movie in history.

Christopher Nolan’s war drama about the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk beach has been much applauded and casually doing its thing at the box office – outperforming expectations in many markets.

Nolan’s film may have, however, just grabbed its biggest claim to fame yet, in beating out Saving Private Ryan to become the highest grossing WWII movie ever.

Dunkirk now sits at $493 million worldwide, which, thanks to this past weekend’s takings in locations like China, now places it ahead of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, sitting at $481.8 million.

While this is quite the achievement for Dunkirk, Saving Private Ryan still claims the top spot in the US with $216 million to Dunkirk’s $183 million. It’s very unlikely that Dunkirk will reach that number unless Nolan’s movie plays for many months to come thanks to awards recognition.

The more likely next target for Dunkirk would be the $500 million milestone which it could achieve soon depending on how well the film continues to perform in China.

Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.”

Dunkirk sees Christopher Nolan directing a cast that includes Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney and newcomer Fionn Whitehead.