China’s Box Office Went Its Own Way in 2019, to Hollywood’s Detriment
2019年，中國的電影票房一騎絕塵，損害了好萊塢的利益
It wasn’t just 「Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker」 — with its dismal $12 million opening weekend. When year-end figures for the China box office are confirmed next week, it’s likely that only two Hollywood titles will be among the 10 top-grossing titles of 2019, compared to five out of 10 last year and overwhelming market domination not so long before that.
「This has to be the worst performance for Hollywood in China since 2008,」 said Chris Fenton, previously China-based head of motion pictures at DMG and now senior advisor to IDW Media Holdings and a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute. As recently as 2012 and 2013, Fenton recalls, there were weekends 「when 90% of the box office in China was from foreign films… China used to tax its exhibitors if they generated more than 50% box office from foreign films. That’s not needed anymore.」
Instead, locally produced blockbusters such as sci-fi epic 「The Wandering Earth」 and animated hit 「Nezha」 are luring far more moviegoers into Chinese theaters than foreign-made films.
Whether Hollywood will actually record a net decrease in earnings from China for the first time in possibly a decade is still unclear. The overall year-on-year growth of the Chinese box office has often masked the softening appeal of Hollywood movies. But that expansion has slowed to a single-digit percentage, and the Chinese yuan has weakened against the U.S. greenback, shrinking Hollywood’s earnings in dollars.
《星球大戰：天行者的崛起》上映首周末票房慘澹，僅入帳1200萬美元。下周中國票房的年終數據將被確認，很可能只有兩部好萊塢電影將進入2019年票房收入最高的10部電影之列，而去年入選的好萊塢電影有五部，佔據壓倒性的市場主導地位。
「這絕對是好萊塢自2008年以來在中國的最差表現，」曾任DMG中國電影主管、現任IDW傳媒控股公司高級顧問、美國-亞洲研究所董事的克裡斯·芬頓說。芬頓回憶說，就在2012年和2013年，有些周末「中國90%的票房來自外國電影……中國過去一度對外國電影票房超過50%的放映方徵稅。」現在已經不需要這麼做了。」
相反，國產大片如科幻史詩《流浪地球》和熱門動畫片《哪吒》吸引的中國觀眾遠遠超過外國電影。
好萊塢電影在中國的票房收入是否會出現10年來的首次淨下降，目前仍不清楚。中國電影票房的整體同比增長，掩蓋了好萊塢電影吸引力的下降。但這一擴張已放緩至個位數的百分比，人民幣兌美元匯率也有所走軟，令好萊塢的美元收入縮水。
Exhibition and distribution consultancy Artisan Gateway is forecasting that the overall Chinese market will reach RMB63.5 billion ($9.06 billion) this year, a gain of 4.1% in local currency terms. But that is likely to be more than offset by the 6% fall of the yuan from RMB6.58 to the dollar a year ago, to RMB7.01 today.
Artisan Gateway data already show the market share of Chinese films rising from 62% in 2018 to 65% in 2019. That has come largely at the expense of Hollywood titles, which are down to 31% so far this year, compared to 34% last year. The figure could drop below 30% in the final calculation.
In the end, however, only 「Avengers: Endgame」 and 「Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw」 made this year’s top 10 list. China can no longer be expected to lap up American duds and act as a box-office safety net for tired franchises, which had been the case in recent years. Raymond Zhou, a China-based industry consultant, describes that as a 「growing maturity of Chinese audiences.」
展覽和分銷諮詢公司Artisan Gateway預計，今年中國市場的總規模將達到635億元人民幣(合90.6億美元)，以人民幣計算增長4.1%。但這很可能被人民幣兌美元匯率從一年前的1美元兌6.58元人民幣跌至目前的1美元兌7.01元人民幣的6%下跌空間所抵消。
Artisan Gateway的數據已經顯示，中國電影的市場份額從2018年的62%上升到2019年的65%。這在很大程度上是以犧牲好萊塢影片為代價的，今年迄今為止，好萊塢影片的票房收入已下降至31%，去年為34%。在最後的計算中，這個數字可能會下降到30%以下。
不過，最終只有《復仇者聯盟:終局之戰》和《速度與激情:霍布斯與肖》躋身今年的前十名。不能再指望中國繼續對美國爛片來者不拒，充當那些毫無新意的電影的票房安全網，而近年來的情況正是如此。Raymond Zhou是一位駐中國的行業顧問，他認為這是「中國觀眾日益成熟」的表現。
Both Zhou and Artisan Gateway chief Rance Pow say that Chinese box office is particularly top heavy, or hit-driven. 「Only about 3% of titles gross RMB1 billion or more, an observation we』ve made since 2017,」 said Pow. 「Those titles grossing RMB1 billion are also accounting for an increasing share of China’s annual box office: 43% in 2017; 54% in 2018; and an estimated 55% in 2019.」
The locally made hits are now coming in a variety of genres, in a reflection of growing Chinese creativity.
「Forecasts at the beginning of 2019 did not take into account the dark horses such as 『Nezha,』 which is arguably the best Chinese animation film ever; 『The Wandering Earth,』 which is a milestone for Chinese sci-fi; 『Better Days,』 the best teenage movie in a long, long time; and even 『My People, My Country,』 the best anthology film and a government-encouraged [patriotic] film that most resonated with the public,」 says Zhou.
Another structural change is likely to make it hard for Hollywood to quickly reverse its declining market share: a shift in audience demographics thanks to China’s cinema-building spree. According to Artisan Gateway, nearly 20,000 new screens opened in China this year, pushing the total to about 80,000. The majority of the new screens are in small towns and rural areas, often described as Tier 4 or Tier 5 cities, where audiences are less well-traveled, less affluent and more attuned to local rather than foreign content.
周和Artisan Gateway公司的執行長Rance Pow都表示，中國的票房收入非常高，或者可以說非常受歡迎。「根據我們自2017年以來的觀察，只有大約3%的電影總票房在10億元人民幣以上。」Pow說。這些總票房10億元人民幣的影片在中國年度票房中所佔的份額也越來越大:2017年為43%；2018年的54%；估計到2019年將達到55%。」
現在中國本土製作的熱門電影有多種類型，反映了中國日益增長的創造力。
「2019年初沒有預料到《哪吒》這匹黑馬，這部電影可以說是中國有史以來最好的動畫電影；《流浪的地球》是中國科幻小說的裡程碑；《少年的你》是很長一段時間以來最好的青少年電影；甚至是《我和我的祖國》，一部最好的電影合集，一部政府鼓勵的、最能引起公眾共鳴的愛國主義電影，」周說。
另一個結構性變化可能會讓好萊塢難以迅速扭轉其不斷下滑的市場份額：由於中國的電影建設熱潮，觀眾人口結構發生了變化。據Artisan Gateway稱，今年中國新投放了近2萬塊屏幕，總數達到8萬塊。大多數新銀幕都在小城鎮和農村地區，即四、五線城市，那裡的觀眾很少旅行，不太富裕，更喜歡本地電影，而非外國電影。
美國雅虎網站讀者評論：
譯文來源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/49039.html 譯者：Joyceliu
外文連結：https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/china-box-office-went-own-130623773.html
C K
China signed a contract for UCLA to build a film studio educational institute in one of their university a few years ago. Now, armed with the wherewithal they went to work on making films according to their taste. This is similar story to back around 2000 when China had no hardware store as humongous as HomeDepot and then in a few short years it is now readily available. They caught on fast. You give them ideas and they'll work on it fast and, oftentimes, modify it to their taste like they did with China Walmart.
幾年前，中國與加州大學洛杉磯分校籤署了一份合同，在他們的一所大學裡建立一個電影製片廠教育學院。現在，他們帶著資金按照自己的口味開始拍攝電影。這與2000年前後的情況類似，當時中國還沒有像家得寶這樣規模龐大的五金店，但短短幾年之後，家得寶就遍地開花。你給他們一些想法，他們會很快做出來，還會根據自己的口味進行調整，就像中國的沃爾瑪一樣。
NJ BTW
Good .. rather have movie companies avoid catering to China..
好. .我不希望電影公司迎合中國市場…
david
Good. Maybe the real Hollywood will stop bowing to China.
很好。也許真正的好萊塢將不再向中國低頭。
Ed
Hollywood’s been out of fresh ideas for a long time now and China is catching on - maybe now US audiences will get something fresh - but don’t count on it.
好萊塢已經很久沒有讓人眼前一亮的東西了，而中國正在迎頭趕上——也許現在美國觀眾會看到一些新鮮的東西——但別寄太大希望。
John
Chinese movies used to be good, but the last 10 years it’s so obvious that the government is involved as the movies seem to border propaganda.
中國電影曾經很不錯，但在過去的10年裡，很明顯政府參與了電影的宣傳。
Daimos
Hollywood is so scared of PC police they are stuck regurgitating PC-friendly plots and alphabet-group inspired movies. China's taste for movies is always been shallow, action-driven, melodramatic tear-jerkers, unpopular to Western markets, hence, any Western blockbusters are always lost in translation. And those that make it are copied and sold as their own. The Chinese market is never been as lucrative as the American model as the US biggest theater chain, AMC, is Chinese-owned and is far more lucrative than pirated-friendly Chinese market.
好萊塢過於害怕政治正確審核，所以被符合政治正確主題的情節所束縛。中國對電影的品味向來是膚淺的、以動作為導向的、煽情的、催人淚下的、不受西方市場歡迎，因此，西方大片總是在翻譯中陷入迷惘。中國市場從來不像美國模式那樣利潤豐厚，因為美國最大的連鎖影院AMC是中國人擁有的，利潤遠比盜版猖獗的中國市場豐厚。
Assassins Creed
I would be boycotting all American films in China if I was Chinese.
如果我是中國人，我會抵制所有在中國上映的美國電影。
The Stig
I hope Hollywood will stop catering to China so we could enjoy our movies like we used to.
我希望好萊塢不要再迎合中國觀眾的口味，這樣我們就能像以前那樣欣賞電影了。
Charles
I think as Hollywood goes more Politically Correct with gross stuff, more people will be boycotting these films
我認為隨著好萊塢變得越來越政治正確，會有更多的人抵制這些電影。
Delight
The Far East has never cared much for Star Wars. You'll find it all over under Disney's push, however it just hasn't taken off in places like Japan, China, Indonesia. They may buy the shirts and toys for it being a symbol of America and American ideas (cool factor), however few actually enjoy the stories.
遠東地區從未對《星球大戰》感興趣。在迪士尼的推動下，你會發現它到處都是，然而它在日本、中國、印度尼西亞等地並沒有取得成功。他們可能會買這些襯衫和玩具，因為它們是美國和美國思想的象徵(很酷)，但很少有人會真正喜歡這些故事。
Michael
The move towards appealing to the Chinese box office was leading to worse and worse movies with more and more compromises. This was a case where the additional revenue they were getting from China was leading to a worse product for the rest of us.
討好中國票房的舉動導致電影越來越糟糕，妥協也越來越多。在這種情況下，他們從中國獲得的額外收入，導致我們看到的東西越來越差。
Michael
Competition is good, Hollywood needs to wake up..
競爭是好事，好萊塢需要清醒清醒了。
Ken
Good the quicker we extricate everything from. China the better.
很好，我們越快擺脫一切，中國就會越好。
Dan
Well I duno, hollywood does have a history of painting Chinese people as "The bad guys" in their movies. Plus, you don't see many Asian actors and actresses in Hollywood in general.
Maybe it IS a good time for people to switch to films that are more suited to their taste.
Bye bye hollywood.
我不知道，好萊塢確實有在電影中把中國人描繪成「壞人」的慣常做法。另外，通常你在好萊塢看不到太多亞洲演員。
也許現在是人們轉向更適合自己口味的電影的好時機。
拜拜了好萊塢。
knoxzi
Why you have so worried about it? Chinese movies not even make to US market as far as I can see!
你為什麼這麼擔心呢?據我所知，中國電影甚至都還沒有進入美國市場呢!
Timur
They don't feel right when any Asian characters in US films look second rate and play second rate roles, plus the Trade Wars affecting them: it is difficult for them to look at Hollywood with favorate sights.
美國電影中的所有亞洲角色都是二流角色，再加上貿易戰，讓他們感到不舒服：他們很難帶著好感觀看好萊塢電影。
DEATH
It is interesting to me how no foreign movies are shown in any theaters that I know of, yet the world gets our movies. I only see it as fair for them to push more of their own content. As the world catches up to our quality, which seems they are almost there, we need to focus on new ways to enhance our tech. and continue to be leaders. Americans are too busy worrying about politics and nonsense to see the world is going strong while we bicker. A united America cant be beat but sadly we are seeing us starting to lose because we are so divided.
我覺得很有趣的是，據我所知，沒有一家電影院放映外國電影，而全世界都在觀看我們的電影。我認為，他們推出更多國產電影是很正常的事。全球都在追趕我們的品質，我們需要專注於提高我們技術的新方法，繼續成為引領者。美國人忙於擔心政治，整天廢話，我們在爭吵個不停地時候卻沒看到世界其他國家正在變得越來越強大。一個團結的美國不會被打敗，但遺憾的是，我們因為分歧太大，已經開始要輸了。
Freedom
chinese movies are very predictable like knowing what the ending
中國電影的情節很容易猜，就像我們一眼就能看到結局一樣。
MYcomments
Different culture has different perception. If one can make good homemade movies,
it's not a suprise that locals would like them better.
不同的文化有不同的感知。如果一個人能排出好的國產電影，當地民眾會更喜歡它們，這並沒有什麼好奇怪的。
Dani
sorry we are tired of those fiction when the US is saving the world. we like movies to have a deeper insight.
對不起，我們已經厭倦了美國拯救世界的虛構故事。我們喜歡看有更深刻見解的電影。
Tobias
Look at the top movies in America this past year. Which ones would really appeal to Chinese audiences?
看看去年美國的頂級電影。哪些會真正吸引中國觀眾?
Kyle
The film industry in general needs to change. As long as they insist on implementing leftist political messages and don't provide a temporary escape from reality, more and more people are going to avoid the theater altogether.
總的來說，電影行業需要改變。只要他們堅持傳播左翼政治信息，不讓觀眾能暫時逃離現實，越來越多的觀眾將會再不踏入劇院半步。
bill
Hollywood is perhaps one of the most racist place to work.
好萊塢可能是種族主義最盛的工作場所之一。
Keystone
This is why the West wants to keep the rest of the world poor. Poor people will follow because they have no other choice. Rich people don't.
這就是為什麼西方國家想要讓世界其他地區繼續貧窮的原因。窮人只會追隨，因為他們別無選擇。富人才不會這樣。
Naked Reader
Let me get this right: It's okay for China to have protectionist policies, but America can't. Sorry, I'd like USA to enact protectionist policies too!
我來理一下思路哈：中國有保護主義政策是可以的，但美國不能這麼做。對不起，我希望美國也頒布保護主義政策！
pspox
Well, Hollywood partnered and taught China how to make good movies, so now China can make good movies, they don't need Hollywood as much. No surprise, there.
好吧，好萊塢與中國合作、教中國如何拍出好電影，所以現在中國可以拍出好電影了，就不太需要好萊塢了。太正常不過了。
Ron
not surprised - americans are always trying to put china down by saying china is forcing them to change their scripts, etc., to please china censors - i guess hollywood decided they didn't want china's money anymore
這並不奇怪——美國人總是說中國為了取悅中國審查人員而強迫他們修改劇本，以此來打壓中國——我猜好萊塢已經決定不再需要中國的錢了。
Emilio
In other words China is making better movies Than Hollywood.
換句話說，中國正在製作比好萊塢更好的電影。
Meachy |
Wonder how much longer will it be before some major Chinese movie has a token white guy in it to appeal to the American market?
不知道還要等多久，中國的大電影才會有具有象徵意義的白人角色來吸引美國市場?
Chagatai
we need Chinese protectionist policies
我們需要學習中國的保護主義政策。
J
chinese don't like diversity and that seems to be hollywood's focus these days
中國人不喜歡多元化，而這似乎是好萊塢近來關注的焦點