Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

“Java, 1942 — A clash of cultures, a test of the human spirit.”

May 28, 1983R2h 4mTMDB ★ 7.3
MoviesRankd
5.83/10
Solid
Letterboxd
3.94/5
52411 reviews
IMDb
7.2/10
22,152 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
86%
Metacritic
M
53/100

Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.

Genres

Drama, History, War

Studio

Recorded Picture Company

Language

ja

Status

Released

Box Office

How Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence performed

Budget

N/A

Worldwide Gross

$2.3M

Gross Profit

N/A

Return

N/A

Opening Wknd (est.)

$332K

Domestic (est.)
International (est.)
$1M$1M

Source: TMDB. Domestic/international split (~48/52, genre-typical) and the opening-weekend figure (30% of the domestic run, typical for Drama) are MoviesRankd estimates. Profit is gross revenue minus production budget and excludes marketing — studios typically need ~2–2.5× budget to break even.

Where to Watch

Stream
Criterion Channel
Rent
Buy

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© 2026 MoviesRankd. Data from TMDB.