Empire of the Sun
To survive in a world at war, he must find a strength greater than all the events that surround him.
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps.Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together.Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Signature
- Drama · Craft · Action
- Worldwide
- $67M
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
The Nutevio profile
Movie DNA
How Empire of the Sun actually feels to watch, measured on the twelve traits our editors track across every Nutevio title.
Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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The record
Awards
2 wins · 6 nominations
Academy Awards
No wins yet · 6 nominations
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Cinematography
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Costume Design
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Film Editing
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Original Score
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Production Design
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Sound
National Board of Review Award for Best Film
1 win
- WinnerNational Board of Review Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
1 win
- WinnerNational Board of Review: Top Ten Films
The numbers
Box Office & Release
Empire of the Sun returned 1.9× its budget worldwide.
- Budget
- $35M
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $67M
- Release date
- Dec 9, 1987
- Runtime
- 2h 33m
- MPAA rating
- —
- Language
- English, Japanese
- Country
- United States of America
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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