票房趕超《阿凡達》《變4》打中國牌見成效

In the less than two weeks since its premiere in China, Paramount Pictures’ ‘‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’’ has hurtled to the top of the country’s box-office records, surpassing ‘‘Avatar,’’ according to the Chinese movie website Mtime.

據中國電影網站時光網說，派拉蒙影業(Paramount Pictures)的《變形金剛4：絕跡重生》(Transformers: Age of Extinction)在中國上映不到兩週就打破了票房記錄，超過了《阿凡達》(Avatar)。截至週日，該片在中國共賺得2.23多億美元。該片在中國取得了巨大成功，而在美國，第二個週末的表現有點弱。本片由邁克爾·貝(Michael Bay)導演，是關於外星機器人的系列大片的第四部。

The runaway success in China for the film, which had grossed more than $223 million as of Sunday, comes amid reports of a somewhat weaker second-weekend performance in the United States. The movie, directed by Michael Bay, is the fourth installment in the franchise about alien robots.

據時光網說，截至7月4日美國國慶節週末結束，該片在美國共賺得1.74多億美元。6月27日在中國和美國同時首映的那個週末，兩國的票房收入差不多一樣。

By the end of the July 4 holiday weekend, the movie had brought in more than $174 million in the United States, according to Mtime, after having taken in almost equal box-office receipts in both China and the United States in the first weekend after its simultaneous premiere on June g Hongsen, the head of China’s Film Bureau, last month exhorted cinema owners not to abandon a Chinese-made film, ‘‘The Breakup Guru,’’ in favor of ‘‘Transformers.’’ But “Guru” had pulled in only $65.9 million as of Sunday, less than a third of the ‘‘Transformers’’ take in the country.

中國新聞出版廣電總局電影局局長張宏森上個月勸誡院線老闆們不要拋棄中國電影《分手大師》，一味偏愛《變形金剛》。但是《分手大師》截至週日僅賺得6590萬美元，不到《變形金剛》在該國票房收入的三分之一。

While ‘‘Transformers’’ was all but guaranteed a certain measure of success in China given the immense popularity of the franchise in the country, its record-breaking success will most likely be seen as further validation of Paramount’s stepped-up outreach to Chinese audiences.

雖然《變形金剛》幾乎一定會在中國取得成功，因爲這個系列在中國特別受歡迎，但是它成功打破記錄最可能被看做是派拉蒙影業加速靠近中國觀衆的努力取得了成效。

For its latest film, the studio adopted a collaborative production strategy that included a partnership with China Movie Channel, a Chinese production company, as well as filming in mainland China and Hong Kong. Significant roles to were given to Chinese actors such as Li Bingbing.

該公司在拍攝最後一部時採取合拍模式，與中國製片公司中國電影頻道合作，而且在中國內地和香港拍攝。還給中國演員分配了一些值得注意的角色，比如李冰冰。

‘‘The speed with which the Chinese audiences have embraced ‘Transformers 4’ has been a wonderful surprise,’’ said Marc Ganis, co-founder of the United States-based Jiaflix Enterprises, a joint-venture partner with China Movie Channel and one of the production and marketing partners for the film.

“中國觀衆歡迎《變形金剛4》的速度是個巨大的驚喜，”美國Jiaflix Enterprises公司的聯合創始人馬克·加尼斯(Marc Ganis)說。該公司是中國電影頻道的合資夥伴，是該片的製片和市場推廣夥伴之一。

For Hollywood studios, the film’s impressive performance in China is a tantalizing display of the country’s potential for fast growth. China has become the world’s second-biggest film market, behind the United States.

對好萊塢電影公司來說，該片在中國的優異表現是該國快速增長潛力的誘人展現。中國已成爲僅次於美國的全球第二大電影市場。

In the seven years since the first ‘‘Transformers’’ was shown, the number of commercial movie screens in China has increased fivefold, according to Mtime.

據時光網說，從第一部《變形金剛》在中國上映七年來，商業性電影銀幕的數量已經翻了五倍。

Even compared with four years ago, when James Cameron’s ‘‘Avatar’’ was released — smashing domestic box office records at the time with earnings topping $222 million, according to Mtime — the film market in China has entered a ‘‘different era,’’ Mr. Ganis said.

據時光網說，四年前詹姆斯·卡梅隆(James Cameron)的《阿凡達》在中國上映時賺了2.222億美元，打破了國內票房記錄。加尼斯說，即使與四年前相比，中國的電影市場也進入了一個“不同的時代”。

While there are more screens in China, there is also ‘‘way more competition,’’ he said, referring to the Chinese government’s decision in 2012 to increase the yearly limit on imported films to 34 from 20.

他說，雖然中國的銀幕數量增加了，但是“競爭也更激烈了”，他指的是中國政府2012年決定把每年進口電影的限額從20個增加到34個。

Despite the overwhelming reception of the latest ‘‘Transformers,” its release in China has had its upsets, in the form of back-to-back public disputes with Chinese commercial sponsors. A week before the movie’s release, the Beijing Pangu Investment Company accused Paramount of failing to heed contractual obligations and demanded that Paramount remove scenes showing its logo and properties. Pangu eventually dropped its demand.

雖然最新一部《變形金剛》得到了廣泛接受，它在中國的放映也遇到了一些波折，與中國贊助商產生了一個接一個糾紛。電影上映前一週，北京盤古氏投資有限公司起訴派拉蒙公司沒有履行合同義務，要求刪除含有其商標和地產的畫面。盤古氏公司最終放棄了要求。

On Monday, another commercial sponsor, the Wulong Scenic Area in southwestern China, where parts of the movie were filmed, announced that it was planning to sue the film’s producers for failing to display its logo in the movie.

週一，另一個贊助商中國西南部的武隆景區——該片的部分場景是在那裏拍攝的——宣佈計劃起訴該片的製作人們沒有在片中展示它的商標。

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

派拉蒙公司沒有立即迴應做出評論的請求。

China Movie Channel , the production partner, said on Monday on its website, 1905 Internet Technology, that the Wulong Scenic Area had not paid its contracted fee on time. The production company conceded that a mistake had been made over the signage on a bridge in the region.

該片的製片合作方中國電影頻道週一在其網站1905電影網上說，武隆景區沒有按時支付合同規定的費用。製片公司承認該地區一座橋上的指示標有誤。