World War Z: Pitt's biggest film ever?

Brad Pitt's new zombie apocalypse movie, 'World War Z', is set to be the biggest  opening weekend earner of his career - surpassing the $50 million brought in by the 2005 spy film, 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'  which co-starred Angelina Jolie.

Paramount expects  'WWZ' , which earned a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, to gross more than $60 million in its its opening weekend.

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The film earned $25 million on Friday, placing the title at No. 2 on the domestic box office chart behind Disney/Pixar's 'Monsters University' at $30.5 million.

Age 49, Pitt is  showing no sign of slowing down. As Betsy Sharkey, 'Los Angeles Times' film critic observes: "In watching Marc Forster's new action drama, 'World War Z', it's hard not to be struck by how well Brad Pitt is ageing. Yes, there's the slightest of silver highlighting his long locks, and the added distinction those little lines are etching on his face, and that his body somehow defies the gravitational pull — but they're not the reason for my fascination. It's the ironic way the zombie thriller — a cleverly high-minded horror hoot — shows how carefully the actor is working his way through the treacherous terrain of the middle-aged movie star."

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The movie, co-financed with Skydance Productions, underwent an arduous production process that included numerous reshoots before finally making its way into cinemas.

Pitt's last summer film was Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds', which opened to $38 million in August 2009. He also starred in Steven Soderbergh's 2007 heist sequel, 'Ocean's Thirteen', which opened to $36 million in June. And the actor opened the mythology epic, 'Troy', to $46 million in May, 2004.