" China syndrome " is a fanciful term — not intended to be taken literally — that describes a fictional result of a nuclear meltdown , where reactor components melt through their containment structures and into the underlying earth , " all the way to China . " '' The China Syndrome '' premiered at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival , where it competed for the Palme d'Or while Lemmon received the Best Actor prize . The film was released theatrically on March 16 , 1979 , twelve days before the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Dauphin County , Pennsylvania , which gave the film 's subject matter an unexpected prescience . Upon release the film was a critical and commercial success with critics praising the film 's screenplay , direction and thriller elements and Fonda 's and Lemmon 's performances . The film grossed $ 51.7 million on a production budget of $ 5.9 million . It received four nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards : Best Actor ( Lemmon ) , Best Actress ( Fonda ) , Best Art Direction ( George Jenkins , Arthur Jeph Parker ) , and Best Original Screenplay
1979 Cannes Film Festival
1979 Cannes Film Festival
The China Syndrome