Empire of the Sun (1987)

#2619 worldwide · charting in 4 countries

Movie · 153 min · 12 · drm, war

Empire of the Sun poster

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.

  • 7.7 IMDb
  • 7.5 TMDB
  • 75% Rotten Tomatoes
  • 90 JustWatch

Where to watch Empire of the Sun

Available on 11 platforms across 4 countries.

Chart positions today

Currently charting in 4 countries, best placed at #386 in Netherlands.

Available languages

Audio: Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, NB, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian

Chart history

Empire of the Sun has spent 0 days in a top 3, 1 days in a top 10 and 11 days in a top 100 across the markets we track. Its best position anywhere is #6.

Cast

Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, Joe Pantoliano, Leslie Phillips, Masatô Ibu, Emily Richard, Rupert Frazer, Peter Gale, Takatarô Kataoka, Ben Stiller, David Neidorf, Ralph Seymour, Robert Stephens, Zhai Naishe, Guts Ishimatsu, Emma Piper

Crew

Steven Spielberg (director,producer), Tom Stoppard (screenplay), Frank Marshall (producer), Kathleen Kennedy (producer)

Awards

4 wins from 10 nominations.

  • National Board of Review: Top Ten Films — won
  • National Board of Review Award for Best Film — won
  • National Board of Review: Top Ten Films — won
  • National Board of Review Award for Best Film — won
  • Academy Award for Best Sound 1988 — nominated
  • Academy Award for Best Costume Design 1988 — nominated
  • Academy Award for Best Cinematography 1988 — nominated
  • Academy Award for Best Original Score 1988 — nominated
  • Academy Award for Best Production Design 1988 — nominated
  • Academy Award for Best Film Editing 1988 — nominated