‘Aquaman’ is already a box office titan

《海王》已经票房大爆

---

Hi，欢迎关注我们的外刊阅读每日更新。每日音频和阅读材料及卡片，请点击网盘连接获取。链接: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1Db8lJ54sBtBhHOoccJOCug 提取码: r2yf

这部电影堪称“有《阿凡达》般的视觉奇观，《指环王》般的史诗质感，《夺宝奇兵》般的寻宝历险，《狮子王》般的家国命运，《速度与激情》般的亡命追逐和《星球大战》般的种族多样性”，没错，这就是最近上映的 DC 超级英雄大作——《海王》。《海王》在中国上映后，赢得了上亿元票房和极佳的口碑。那么问题来了：为什么 DC 会把《海王》首先安排在中国上映呢？这背后有怎样的商业动机？让我们来读一读《纽约时报》上的相关报道吧！

The box office action over the weekend took place in China, where “Aquaman” collected $94 million in tickets, validating a risky plan by Warner Bros. to release the movie in the Middle Kingdom before anywhere else.

上周末在中国发生了票房大战，经此一役《海王》狂揽 9400 万美元票房收入，这意味着华纳兄弟将电影最先安排在中国上映的冒险计划效果不错。

Chinese audiences have grown more selective about Hollywood movies, at times displaying a new preference for locally made movies like the extravagant “Operation Red Sea,” directed by Dante Lam, known as the Michael Bay of Asia.

中国观众对好莱坞电影是越来越挑剔了，有时候还会对国产片心生偏爱，像是巨制《红海行动》。执导该片的导演林超贤，被誉为“亚洲的迈克尔·贝”。

The upshot: “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa as the DC Comics superhero and directed by James Wan, could have easily flopped in China, which would have left a stink on the movie before its global rollout. “Aquaman,” which cost an estimated $350 million to make and market worldwide, will arrive in 40 more countries Friday. Audiences in North America will have the chance to see it starting Dec. 21.

意想不到的结果：由杰森·莫玛扮演 DC 漫画超级英雄，温子仁执导，《海王》原本很有可能在中国面临惨败，这也就意味着在其全球首映之前引起轩然大波。本周五，这部耗资约 3.5 亿美元打造并在全球推广的电影《海王》将在其它 40 国上映。从 12 月 21 日起，北美观众就有机会观看这部电影了。

Why didn’t Warner just release “Aquaman” this weekend in North America as well?

为什么华纳兄弟不干脆把《海王》在北美上映的日期也定在本周末呢？

The two weekends after Thanksgiving in the United States are typically among the slowest moviegoing periods of the year, as holiday shopping and related festivities take priority. There were no new wide-release films over the weekend in North America, where the No.1 movie was once again “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (Disney), which collected about $16.1 million, for a three-week domestic total of $140.9 million, according to comScore.

（因为）在美国，感恩节后的两个周末处于一年中典型的观影淡季，在此期间，人们会优先进行假期购物和举行相关的庆祝活动。本周末在北美没有新的大片上映，位居榜首的依然是迪士尼出品的《无敌破坏王 2：大闹互联网》，根据 comScore 的数据，该片票房收入约为 1610 万美元，为期三周的国内票房总额达到了 1.409 亿美元。

—————  文章来源 / 纽约时报

重点词汇

validate/ˈvælɪdeɪt/

v. 证实，确认…有效

e.g.

validate a theory/contract

selective/sɪˈlektɪv/

adj. 认真挑选的

e.g.

selective education

a selective school

extravagant/ɪkˈstrævəɡənt/

adj. 花巨资的；奢华的；令人赞叹的

e.g.

an extravagant present

an extravagant lifestyle

upshot/ˈʌpʃɑːt/

n. （通常指意外的）结果，结局

flop/flɑːp/

v. 彻底失败，惨败；猛然坐下

e.g.

Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair.

stink/stɪŋk/

n. 吵闹，争吵；麻烦；不快

e.g.

cause a stink

rollout/ˈroʊlaʊt/

n.  首次展示；首映

moviegoing/ˈmuːviɡoʊɪŋ/

n. 去电影院看电影

e.g.

moviegoer

festivity/feˈstɪvəti/

n. 庆祝活动；欢庆；欢乐