夏季一般是好萊塢票房大爆的季節，每到暑期檔，院線里全是一線影星驚險逃過爆炸的鏡頭，布景也都造價不菲。盡管今年同樣有一連串超級英雄沖刺大銀幕，也解決不了好萊塢的難題：上座率還是不溫不火。

過去十年，美國和加拿大的年度合計票房已經縮水8000萬美元。

同時，人均觀影率自2007年以來下跌14%，降至每人每年購買不足四張電影票。其實算下來，2016年的票房還增長了2%，達到114億美元。但如果吸引不了更多觀眾（而不只是想辦法賣更多爆米花），美國影業公司的老板們就很快會面臨現實危機：要不要持續提高電影票價，最后把去影院看電影變成小眾的體驗？就算能不斷漲價，又能漲多久？這些都是讓好萊塢高層夜不能寐的問題（可能睡不著爬起來看Netflix，然后更焦慮）。

然而，中國市場為好萊塢帶來了走出困境的希望。和美國消費者不同，中國觀眾還在涌去電影院。在中國，能放映的片子都還沒那么多，影院倒是一座接一座建得飛快。于是，美國電影公司迎來巨大商機，他們一直想盡辦法將14億中國人變成自家系列大片的忠實粉絲。

中國到底有多少影院？僅去年一年，中國就增加了7500多塊銀幕，全國銀幕總數已經超過美國。相比之下，2013年以來美國銀幕總數一直維持在4萬塊左右。在不遠的將來——預計最快幾個月最慢兩年，中國也將超越美國成為全球最大的票房市場。中國的傳媒與娛樂業市值已達約1800億美元。

哪種影片能在中國大賣？

隨著美國電影公司要迎合海外觀眾，中國觀眾的口味也在改變好萊塢。今年4月，《速度與激情》（The Fate of the Furious）系列第8部電影（下稱“速8”）成為好萊塢在中國最賣座的影片。以下是該片大賣的幾大要素，預計今后會越發常見。

充滿動作戲：大場面的特效、簡單的劇情、俊男美女出演，這些元素幫助速8迅速彌合文化差異。

不要太出格：中國電影沒有分級制，中國審查者會砍掉有關性、暴力和政治色彩過濃的內容。如果電影分級，有低俗鏡頭的電影會要求家長指導觀看，速8就不需要。

實現3D效果：在亞洲，78%的銀幕可以播放3D效果，美國的3D屏幕只占39%。

美國電影對中國觀眾有吸引力，為保護國產電影設置的進口片限額影響不大。中國不但控制引進影片的數量，還限制票房分成。但好萊塢也迎來利好：為了滿足國內影院需求，中國已經將進口影片量的上限由34部調升至38部。雖然唐納德?特朗普當選后中美貿易關系偏緊張，但進口影片限額今年有望進一步上調。

不過，美國影業公司還有一個攔路虎：中國同行。目前，中國本土電影公司的作品大多屬于荒誕主義喜劇，對觀眾吸引力有限，而且缺少能確保叫座的大牌IP（例如即將上映的美國大片《神奇女俠》（Wonder Woman）和《蜘蛛俠》（Spider-Man））。然而，中國最高票房紀錄的保持者還是國產片。2016年，周星馳導演的科幻浪漫喜劇《美人魚》票房勁收將近5.27億美元。中國影業巨頭大連萬達正在青島開發全球最大影視基地。

從數字看火爆的中國電影市場

2012年以來，中國票房增長了144%，同期北美票房僅增長6%。

截至去年年底，中國電影屏幕合計40917塊，是2013年的兩倍還多，并且超過了美國去年末的40759塊。

《速度與激情》82%的票房來自美國以外市場。

正因為票房火爆，好萊塢才要想方設法在中國影業騰飛以前要在華站穩腳跟。目前來看收效還不錯。最近的速8在中國贏得3.88億美元票房，創造了好萊塢影片在華票房的記錄。該片在美國本土票房僅有2.15億美元。

這種票房差異意味著巨大的商機。美國南加州大學專家克萊頓?杜貝認為：“暴力破壞，英雄勇敢拯救世界，都是全人類容易理解的元素。”

考慮到中國觀眾對知名動作大片的興趣，可能好萊塢接下來會推出更多打打砸砸的續篇、前傳、翻拍片和重拍片。可能提不起美國觀眾的興趣，但會緩解好萊塢對上座率增長緩慢的擔憂，至少短期趨勢如此。（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

Summer is supposed to be Holly?wood’s most glorious season, a time for tentpole franchises to showcase A?list actors implausibly escaping from expensively produced explo?sions. But this year, even the slew of superhero flicks careering toward the big screen can’t fight off Hollywood’s most fearsome foe: stagnating theater attendance.

Over the past decade, the number of tickets sold annu?ally in the U.S. and Canada has sunk by 80 million.

Meanwhile, per capita attendance fell 14% since 2007, to just under four tickets per person per year. To be fair, box? office sales ticked up 2% in 2016, to $11.4 billion, but unless U.S. theater owners find a way to lure larger crowds (and not just sell more popcorn), they will soon face an existential crisis: Do you keep raising prices, even if it means the cinema becomes a niche experience? And if so, how long can that last? Those are the questions that keep studio execs up at night (pre?sumably watching Netflix).

Photo: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

However, there is a silver lining to Hollywood’s dilemma—China. Unlike their American counterparts, Chinese consumers are flocking to the theaters. And China is building them out faster than they can fill them with movies. The result is a rich opportunity for U.S. film?makers who have long been aching to turn China’s nearly 1.4 billion people on to its roster of recycled franchises.

Just how many theaters does China need to fill? Last year alone, the country added more than 7,500 sil?ver screens, and its national total surpassed the number in the U.S., which has stayed constant at about 40,000 since 2013. At some point in the near future—projections range from a few months to two years—China will also overtake the U.S. as the largest generator of box? office revenue in the world. Already, the Chinese media and entertainment industry as a whole is worth an esti?mated $180 billion.

What Makes a Blockbuster … in China?

Chinese tastes are changing U.S. films as studios woo audiences abroad. The Fate of the Furious became China’s bestselling Hollywood movie ever in April. Here, a few keys to its success in the country. Expect more where this came from.

Action-packed: Big stunts, simple plots, and beautiful actors helped F8 bridge the cultural divide.

Not subversive: China has no rating system. Instead, censors cut out sex, violence, and overly political content. Risqué movies get a parental advisory, which F8 avoided.

Available in 3D: In Asia, 78% of movie screens are 3D. It’s only 39% in the U.S.

China’s audiences are attractive to U.S. studios; its protectionist caps on im?ported movies, not so much. The country limits both the number of foreign films allowed in, and the profits allowed out. The good news for Hollywood: As China looks to fill its theaters, it has upped its foreign movie cap from 34 to 38. And despite the heightened trade tensions following the elec?tion of Donald Trump, that number is expected to rise even more this year.

U.S. studios have another obstacle, though: Chinese studios. Right now, mainland moviemakers spin out most?ly absurdist comedies with limited appeal, and lack the big brand names that make a reliable hit (think Wonder Woman and Spider?Man). Yet the highest? grossing flick of all time in the country is homegrown. Stephen Chow’s 2016 hit The Mermaid, a sci?fi romantic comedy, raked in nearly $527 million. And conglomerate Dalian Wanda is currently develop?ing one of the largest movie? production facilities in the world in Qingdao.

China’s Movie Magic: By the Numbers

144% growth in China’s box-office revenue since 2012. North American growth was just 6% in the same period.

40,917 number of movie screens in China at the end of last year, more than double what it was in 2013, and surpassing the 40,759 in the U.S.

82% share of box-office sales for The Fate of the Furious that came from outside the U.S.

That’s left Hollywood scrambling to get a foothold before Chinese studios take off—and so far, it’s work?ing. The Fate of the Furious recently made $388 million at China’s box office, the most of any Hollywood film there to date. It earned just $215 million stateside.

Therein lies the opportu?nity: “Smashing stuff up and being brave—those kinds of things tend to translate well,” says Clayton Dube, an expert at the University of Southern California.

Given China’s appetite for well? known action fran?chises, it’s likely we’ll see even more smash?’em? up sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots coming out of Hollywood. That may not excite all U.S. audiences, but it will ease studios’ fears about slowing growth—at least for now.