Reception
Empire of the Sun was given a limited release on December 11, 1987, before being wide released on December 25, 1987. The film earned $22.24 million in North America, and $44.46 million in other countries, accumulating a worldwide total of $66.7 million, earning more than its budget but still considered a box office disappointment by Spielberg.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 81% based on reviews from 36 critics. By comparison Metacritic calculated an average score of 60%, based on 17 reviews. J. G. Ballard gave positive feedback, and was especially impressed with Christian Bale's performance. Critical reaction was not universally affirmative, with Richard Corliss of Time stated that Spielberg "has energized each frame with allusive legerdemain and an intelligent density of images and emotions." Janet Maslin from The New York Times called the film "a visual splendor, a heroic adventurousness and an immense scope that make it unforgettable." Julie Salamon of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the film as "an edgy, intelligent script by playwright Tom Stoppard, Spielberg has made an extraordinary film out of Mr. Ballard's extraordinary war experience." J. Hoberman from the Village Voice decried that the serious subject was undermined by Spielberg's "shamelessly kiddiecentric" approach. Roger Ebert gave a mixed reaction, "espite the emotional potential in the story, it didn't much move me. Maybe, like the kid, I decided that no world where you can play with airplanes can be all that bad."
Read more about this topic: Empire Of The Sun (film)
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