Hong Kong Synopsis
“You'll root for them all…but you'll never guess who wins.”
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
The 1980–1982 Hong Kong Window
45 Hong Kong films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. The Cannonball Run sits at position #28.
The 1980s Hong Kong Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1980s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Cannonball Run premiered. 151 total titles in this decade from Hong Kong.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 1h 35m runtime, production spent $189K per minute on screen and earned $760K per minute back.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #514 of 836 Hong Kong films indexed here (39th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Hong Kong Action productions specifically: #339 of 516 (top 66%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | United States of America, Hong Kong |
| Original Language | En |
| Spoken Languages | Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, English |
| Production Companies | Albert S. Ruddy Productions, 20th Century Fox, Orange Sky Golden Harvest |
| Runtime | 1h 35m |
| Release Date | June 19, 1981 |
| IMDb | tt0082136 |