China Synopsis
“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.
The 1986–1988 China Window
11 China films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Empire of the Sun sits at position #6.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Empire of the Sun. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Amblin Entertainment
The 1980s China Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1980s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Empire of the Sun premiered. 23 total titles in this decade from China.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 33m runtime, production spent $229K per minute on screen and earned $436K per minute back.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #175 of 946 China films indexed here (82nd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.8 points above the China average of 6.7/10.
Among China Drama productions specifically: #109 of 547 (top 20%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | China |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | China, Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America |
| Original Language | En |
| Spoken Languages | English, Japanese, Mandarin |
| Production Companies | Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Runtime | 2h 33m |
| Release Date | December 9, 1987 |
| IMDb | tt0092965 |