<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $12.5 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $44.1 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (released as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in the United States; see spelling differences) is a 2008 British - American historical period drama based on the novel of the same name by Irish writer John Boyne . Directed by Mark Herman, produced by BBC Films and Heyday Films, and distributed by Miramax (North America) and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (International), the film stars Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Asa Butterfield, and Jack Scanlon . It was released on 12 September 2008 in the United Kingdom . </P> <P> The Holocaust drama explores the horror of a World War II Nazi extermination camp through the eyes of two 8 - year - old boys; Bruno (Butterfield), the son of the camp's Nazi commandant, and Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish inmate . </P>

When was the boy in the striped pyjamas filmed