Rami Malek Stars in Both Highest Grossing Biopics in Movie History

"Oppenheimer" just became the highest-grossing film based on a real-life person to ever hit the big screen, and its 2nd-place competition shares something in common ... Rami Malek.

Indeed, the actor stars in both Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster -- in a scene-stealing moment, no less -- as well as "Bohemian Rhapsody" ... the biopic about Freddie Mercury ... which, up until this Sunday, was the top dog when it came to flicks about historical figures.

That changed, however, after "Oppenheimer" crossed a big threshold at the worldwide box office ... the number being $912 million, which is how much its made in its theatrical run.

That barely edges out Rami's 'BH' ... which peaked at $910M while it was still out. Below that is a significant drop-off in Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper," which made over $540 mil at the global box office. After that ... "The Greatest Showman," "The King's Speech" and so on.

Again ... the common denominator for the two crown jewels in this category is Rami. He was obviously the lead star in 'Bohemian' -- winning an Oscar for Best Actor in that -- and he has a crucial role in "Oppenheimer" as well ... when he outs RDJ as the big bad toward the end.

Assuming "Oppenheimer" goes on to swoop up some statuettes next year -- like most everyone expects it to -- Rami can say he's been in two Academy Award-winning films.