Brad Pitt's zombie horror movie World War Z has become the most successful movie of the actor's career after hitting the $500 million mark at the global box office.

The actor battles the undead in the big screen adaptation of Max Brooks' novel of the same name and the movie has been hailed a hit after scoring huge ticket sales across the world.

It has now eclipsed Pitt's previous box office blockbuster Troy, which took around $497 million following its 2004 release, making World War Z the star's most successful film ever.

The earnings put the zombie movie well ahead of Pitt's other box office successes including Mr. + Mrs. Smith ($478 million) and the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, of which the first movie was most successful with a global total of around $451 million.

World War Z was plagued with production problems during filming, as the ending had to be completely rewritten and the $125 million budget ballooned to $200 million.