好萊塢電影票房想叫座？還得女性觀眾說了算！.

　　Heading into the all-important summer moviegoing season, two converging box-office trends are startling studios: Women are driving ticket sales to a degree rarely, if ever, seen bore, while young men — long Hollywood’s most coveted audience — are relatively AWOL.

　　正當迎來非常重要的夏日暑期檔之際，兩股票房潮流的融合令電影制片公司大吃一驚：女觀眾在票房升溫方面一定程度上發(fā)揮了難得的巨大作用;然而，長久以來好萊塢最為青睞的年輕男觀眾卻相對減少。

　　With the release of “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” over the weekend, women have delivered the three biggest live-action openings of the year. The audience for “Insurgent,” which took in an estimated $54 million from Friday to Sunday, was 60 percent female. The opening-weekend crowd for “Fifty Shades of Grey” was 67 percent female, and women made up 66 percent of the audience for “Cinderella.”

　　至今，本年度共有三次由女性觀眾引起，最為轟動的真人電影上映周末。周末上映的《分歧者2：叛亂者》(The Divergent Series: Insurgent)便是其中一次?！斗制缯?：叛亂者》從周五上映到周日約賺得5400萬美元的票房，而觀影群體中，60%為女性觀眾。《五十度灰》(Fifty Shades of Grey)上映的首個周末，觀影者有67%為女性?！痘夜媚铩?Cinderella)的觀眾中有66%為女性。

　　It would be easier to dismiss those percentages as a fluke — three big female-oriented movies just happened to arrive in proximity — if a parade of movies aimed at young men had not bombed over the same period. Among the carnage: “Jupiter Ascending,” “Seventh Son,” “Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” “Chappie” and, over the weekend, Sean Penn’s “The Gunman.”

　　我們可能會認為女性觀眾在這些電影票房中占據(jù)高比例的現(xiàn)象是曇花一現(xiàn)，可能只是因為這三部以女性觀眾為目標的電影恰好同期上映，但與此同時，以年輕男性觀眾為目標群體的一大堆電影，其票房卻讓人大跌眼鏡，包括《木星上行》(Jupiter Ascending)、《第七子：降魔之戰(zhàn)》(Seventh Son)、《熱浴盆時光機2》(Hot Tub Time Machine 2)、《超能查派》(Chappie)以及周末上映的肖恩·潘(Sean Penn)的《臥底槍手》(The Gunman)。

　　《分歧者2：叛亂者》(The Divergent Series: Insurgent)。圖片來源：凱迪·安德魯·庫伯/獅門影業(yè)(CreditAndrew Cooper/Lionsgate)

　　The shift has been noticeable enough to prompt movie executives and producers to ruminate about the causes and consider whether the big film factories should recalibrate their assembly lines. Counting on the stability of young men, studios have nearly 30 superhero movies on the way by the end of 2015, each costing well over $100 million to make. But young men are more easily distracted by other forms of entertainment, and women may now be the more reliable opening-weekend audience.

　　這種轉(zhuǎn)變?nèi)绱俗⒛浚阋粤铍娪肮靖吖芎椭破怂伎计湓?，同時考慮大型電影制片公司是否需要重新調(diào)整原本的生產(chǎn)線。電影公司指望年輕男觀眾群體較為穩(wěn)定，到2015年底，近30部超級英雄大片將會上映，每一部的制作費用都遠超1億美元。但年輕男人更容易被其他形式的娛樂活動吸引，所以相較之下，女性觀眾才可能是更可靠的上映周末(opening-weekend)觀眾。

　　“You can never put your finger on it entirely, but you have to ask the questions,” said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “Is this just the cyclical nature of the movie business? Or does it point to a more serious shift in habits?”

　　“你無法說清到底是怎么回事，但你要試著找出原因?！比A納兄弟(Warner Bros)國內(nèi)發(fā)行總裁丹·費爾曼(Dan Fellman)說，“這是電影行業(yè)的自然周期發(fā)展所致?還是一種重大的習慣變化?”

　　The uncertainty comes as Hollywood tries to bounce back from a terrible 2014. Admissions fell 6 percent at North American theaters last year, to 1.27 billion, compared with the previous year; ticket sales declined 5 percent, to $10.4 billion. Ticket sales are up about 4 percent so far in 2015, but the high-risk summer months — packed with male-centric movies like “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Terminator: Genisys” and “Ant-Man” — usually set the pace for the year.

　　這種不確定性出現(xiàn)在好萊塢設法從行情慘淡的2014年重振雄風期間，去年，北美的觀影人數(shù)跌至12.7億人次，相比前年下跌了6%;票房銷售跌至104億美元，同比下跌5%。截至日前，2015年票房銷售增長約4%，但因為夏季排滿了以男性觀眾為目標市場的電影，比如《瘋狂的麥克斯4：狂暴之路》(Mad Max: Fury Road)、《終結者：創(chuàng)世紀》(Terminator: Genisys)和《蟻人》(Ant-Man)，高風險的夏季放映檔常常主宰著一年的發(fā)展態(tài)勢。

　　Studios awoke to the power of female ticket buyers in 2008, when the “Twilight” action romances became a global phenomenon. Since then, women have turned films like “The Hunger Games,” “Bridesmaids” and “Frozen” into smash hits. But the muscle of women at the multiplex has recently gone “from sporadic to continuous,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Rentrak, which tracks box-office data.

　　2008年，魔幻愛情電影《暮光之城》(Twilight)獲得全球觀眾追捧，這使電影制片公司開始注意到女性購票觀眾的力量。從那以后，《饑餓游戲》(The Hunger Games)、《伴娘》(Bridesmaids)和《冰雪奇緣》(Frozen)等電影在女性觀眾的推動下名聲大噪。保羅·德加拉伯迪安(Paul Dergarabedian)是Rentrak 公司(美國最大票房信息提供商，負責追蹤票房數(shù)據(jù))的高級分析師，他說：“最近，女性在電影院的影響力已經(jīng)由‘零散性變?yōu)槌掷m(xù)性’?！?/p>

　　Young men used to be Hollywood’s most reliable audience, in part because they tended to be less discriminating than women. “No story? No problem! As long as people got blown up, guys showed up,” Mr. Dergarabedian said.

　　年輕的男人曾經(jīng)是好萊塢最可靠的觀眾，一部分是因為他們并不像女人那么有識別力。德加拉伯迪安先生說：“沒有故事?沒問題!只要有人被炸飛，型男會出現(xiàn)就行?！?/p>

　　But studio research executives say young men are the most likely to be lured by alternative activities like video games, sports and YouTube comedy clips. Research indicates that teenage boys in particular do not want to be told when and where they have to consume entertainment, which makes herding them into a movie theater difficult.

　　但是，電影制片公司的調(diào)查主管則說年輕的男人是最有可能被其他的活動所吸引，例如電子游戲，運動和YouTube(美國的一個影片分享網(wǎng)站)上的喜劇短片。調(diào)查表明，青少年男孩特別不想在特點的時間和地點進行娛樂活動，所以，要讓他們聚集在一個電影院里很難。

　　In contrast, “teenage girls still seem to want the experience of going to the movies as a group,” said Terry Press, president of CBS Films, which recently hit specialty film pay dirt with “The DUFF,” an $8 million comedy about a high school pecking order that is closing in on $35 million in ticket sales, overwhelmingly because of female moviegoers.

　　相反的是，“青少年女孩似乎還是喜歡一起去看電影的體驗，”CBS電影公司總裁特里·普萊斯(Terry Press)這么說道。她的公司最近憑借特色電影《丑女也有春天》(The DUFF)狠賺了一筆。該部喜劇片成本制作費用為800萬美元，講述的是高中里的社會等級。而最終，電影的票房收入為3500萬美元，觀影者多為女性觀眾。

　　The recent box-office gyrations also expose a flaw in studio strategy, analysts say. At a time when so many movies turn themselves inside out trying to attract everyone (a plan that could be summed up as “wide and shallow” in industry parlance), it is clearly possible to fill a big tent by picking a couple of demographics, in particular underserved ones, and superserving them (“narrow and deep”).

　　分析人士稱，最近發(fā)生的票房波動也揭露了電影制片公司策略的不足。許多電影曾為了吸引所有人，選擇顛覆自身(這種計劃可用行內(nèi)術語概括為“廣泛而膚淺”);如果想要有所成效，電影公司理應明確地選擇目標群體，尤其是那些沒有享受到應有服務的人，讓他們享受優(yōu)待(“集中而深刻”)，

　　“Cinderella,” for instance, was not aimed at everyone. But by being a perfect version of something narrower — a costume romance aimed at mothers and girls — “Cinderella” has sold a stout $122 million in tickets in the United States and Canada in just two weeks. (“Empire,” aimed initially at often-ignored African-American viewers, offers a corollary example from television.)

　　《灰姑娘》無疑是最有力的的證明。其目標市場并不是所有人。但正因為該部通俗愛情電影以母親和女孩為目標觀眾，受眾面不廣，僅僅2周內(nèi)，北美票房便進賬12.2億美元。電視業(yè)內(nèi)也有類似的成功例子，如《嘻哈帝國》(Empire)最初的目標群體是常被忽略的非裔美國觀眾，播出后也大放異彩。

　　“What has been happening at the box office sends a message loud and clear that you don’t need four quadrants to be a massive hit,” said Phil Contrino, chi analyst at BoxOffice.com. In movie jargon, a four-quadrant movie is one that attracts men and women, young and old; Hollywood considers anyone over 25 to be old.

　　美國電影票房統(tǒng)計網(wǎng)站BoxOffice.com的首席分析師菲爾·康特里諾(Phil Contrino)說：“票房的情況向我們發(fā)出了一個清晰而明確的信號，要大獲成功，我們不一定要選擇四象限電影(four-quadrant movie)?！庇秒娪皹I(yè)行話來說，四象限電影就是既吸引男女，又吸引年輕人和老一輩的電影;而好萊塢把25歲以上的人都視作“老一輩”。

　　When it comes to the male-female divide, the recent overreliance by studios on visual fects may play a role. The bar for visual fects has been raised so high, experts say, that nothing less than a prolonged smackdown between a raging Hulk and a supersize Iron Man has much hope of turning male heads.

　　在有關男女區(qū)別方面，電影制片公司近期過度依賴視覺效果大概也有一定影響。行家認為，一味追求視覺效果，除非是像憤怒的綠巨人(Hulk)和超大型鋼鐵俠(Iron Man)之間的長時間對決，否則難以引起男人的強烈興趣。

　　“You used to be able to go to movies and see something that you never saw bore — a giant shark, dinosaurs,” said Allison Shearmur, a producer of “Cinderella” and a former senior executive at Lionsgate, Paramount and Universal. “But spectacular visual fects have become routine.”

　　“你曾經(jīng)因為想去看一些從沒看到過的東西去電影院，比如說巨鯊，恐龍等，”《灰姑娘》制片人之一——艾莉森·夏爾摩(Allison Shearmur)說。她曾擔任獅門電影公司(Lionsgate)、派拉蒙影視公司(Paramount)和環(huán)球影片公司(Universal)的高級執(zhí)行官，“如今，壯觀的視覺效果已不足為奇。”

　　Ms. Shearmur continued: “So what does that mean? It means that we’ve got to make more movies that have a compelling core story. The audience still comes when the story is strong, when we can laugh or cry or be afraid in a theater together.”

　　夏爾摩小姐繼續(xù)補充道：“所以這意味著什么?這其實是說我們應該制作更多具有引人入勝的核心故事的電影。只要故事足夠吸引，能夠讓觀眾在電影院里一起大笑，大哭或者感到恐懼，觀眾還是樂意購票進場的?！?/p>

　　Mr. Fellman of Warner Bros. predicted that boys would return en masse for coming PG-13 event movies like “Furious 7” and “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

　　華納兄弟影視公司的費爾曼先生預計，男孩們會選擇抱團到電影院觀看即將上映的PG-13級電影，比如《速度與激情7》(Furious 7)和《復仇者聯(lián)盟2：奧創(chuàng)紀元》(The Avengers: Age of Ultron)。

　　“Outside of ‘American Sniper,’ which started older and got younger, and ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service,’ there has been a noticeable lack of young men,” Mr. Fellman said. “But a lot of the so-called guy movies recently have been rated R, and you lose a lot of tweeners that way,” he noted.

　　“除了《美國狙擊手》(American Sniper)和《王牌特工：特工學院》(Kingsman: The Secret Service)(前者起初面向年紀大的觀眾，后來變成面向年輕群體)，現(xiàn)在明顯缺少了以年輕男人為目標觀眾的電影，”費爾曼先生說，“但很多所謂的“男性電影”最近都被列為限制級(R級)，因此也失去了許多的青少年觀眾。”

　　Warner will add another R-rated comedy to the mix on Friday with “Get Hard,” which has been generating solid interest from men in prerelease surveys.

　　周五，華納影視公司將在自己的上映組合中加入另一部限制級喜劇——《獄前教育》(Get Hard)。這部電影在預映調(diào)查中已經(jīng)引起了男性觀眾的強烈興趣。

　　But the success of Hollywood’s summer box office may well rest with women. Nestled among the superheroes and action movies are an unusually large number of pictures aimed at a female audience, including “Pitch Perfect 2,” an estrogen-heavy musical comedy; “Spy,” an action comedy starring Melissa McCarthy; “Pan,” a splashy adaptation of the Peter Pan story; and the male stripper sequel “Magic Mike XXL.”

　　但是，好萊塢夏季檔的票房要獲得成功，還得要女性觀眾說了算。在超級英雄大片和動作電影中總會有異常多的以女性觀眾為目標市場的電影，包括女性氣息濃厚的音樂喜劇片《完美音調(diào)2》(Pitch Perfect 2);梅利莎·麥卡錫(Melissa McCarthy)主演的動作喜劇片《密探》(Spy);引人注目的改編電影《彼得·潘》(Pan)和關于脫衣舞男的續(xù)集影片《魔力麥克2》 (Magic Mike XXL)。

　　“The whole notion of the summer blockbuster has always been built around young men,” Mr. Dergarabedian said. “I think we’re about to see that change. The clout and importance of the female audience has never been bigger.”

　　“一直以來，年輕的男性觀眾都被視為夏季檔大片熱賣叫座的重要主力軍，”德加拉貝迪安先生說，“我們將要看到這種情況發(fā)生變化了，女性觀眾的影響力和價值從未像如今這般強大?！?/p>