【聯合報╱By MICHAEL CIEPLY╱李京倫譯】
Hollywood Frets Over Global Shifts
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SANTA MONICA, California — Twice in the last few months, there was a faint knock on the door of American supremacy in the global film market.
In early September, a Chinese- language fantasy, “The Monkey King,” climbed to number 21 at the worldwide box office, with $186.1 million in sales. A few weeks later, a Chinese comedy, “Breakup Buddies,” shot to number 22, with $143.1 million in ticket sales .
As competitive threats go, that isn’t much. But it is enough to make Hollywood fret .
近幾個月，美國在全球電影市場的霸主地位兩度隱約受到挑戰。
九月初，華語奇幻片「西遊記之大鬧天宮」票房攀升到全球第21名，達1億8610萬美元。幾周後，華語喜劇電影「心花路放」票房竄升到第22名，達1億4310萬美元。
這算不上競爭上的大威脅，卻足以讓好萊塢發愁。
United States companies and their partners backed the top 20 performers at the world box office every year for the last five. A rare standout was “Intouchables” in 2012, from France, ranked 16th, with $432.6 million in global sales, just behind Universal Pictures’ British-created “Les Misérables,” with $442 million.
The year’s best performer is Paramount Pictures’ “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” with about $1.1 billion in world sales, much of that in China. In all, markets outside the United States accounted for roughly $25 billion of $35.9 billion in sales last year, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
近五年全球票房前20名的電影，年年都是由美國公司及其合作夥伴出資。2012年上映的法國片「逆轉人生」是少見例外，全球票房排名16，達4億3260萬美元，緊追環球影業發行、票房4億4200萬美元的英國片「悲慘世界」。
今年全球最賣座的電影是「變形金剛4：絕跡重生」，約11億美元票房多半來自中國大陸。美國電影協會資料顯示，去年美國電影全球票房收入359億美元，其中約有250億來自海外市場。
Still, Jonathan Wolf, managing director of the American Film Market, an annual production and distribution convention, has been watching what he calls “a global shift away from U.S. product over the last 25 years.”
Government subsidies for local film have changed tastes in some regions of the world, as has a new generation of television- trained international filmmakers, Mr. Wolf said . Mr. Wolf has a sharp eye on China, where the annual box-office take is second only to that in the United States. Ticket sales there are likely to exceed $5 billion this year.
不過，製片與發行界年度大型活動「美國電影市場展」的總監沃夫，一直在注意他所謂「25年來，美國片的全球觀眾逐漸流失」的現象。
沃夫說，世上某些地方的政府補貼國片，改變了觀眾的口味，新一代做過電視節目的國際電影製作人也讓觀眾口味轉變。沃夫特別注意大陸，大陸每年票房收入都僅次於美國，今年可能超過50億美元。
American companies have looked to China for growth through collaborative ventures. But Chinese viewers, with a nudge from government policies to keep domestic films on screen, have shown an increasing tilt toward purely Chinese movies.
According to Rentrak’s box-office tracking service, American studio titles accounted for 39 percent of Chinese ticket sales in 2013, down from 44 percent a year earlier. Speaking in October, Rob Cain, a producer and consultant with considerable experience in China, said the American share was back to almost 44 percent.
China has yet to become a powerful exporter of film. To date, it has been more like India, a prolific producer whose wares are mostly viewed within its borders, and among a vibrant diaspora around the world. But powerful Chinese companies like Dalian Wanda, Fosun International and Le Vision Pictures are looking for global inroads .
美國企業紛紛與大陸合資以求成長，不過大陸當局保護國片，在政策引導下，觀眾逐漸轉向純本土片。
美國連鎖影音出租公司雷翠克的票房統計顯示，2013年大陸總票房收入中美國片占39%，前一年是44%。大陸經歷豐富的美國製片兼顧問甘敏中上月說，今年美國片的票房占比回到將近44%。
大陸還不是電影出口大國，它比較像印度，電影產量豐富，觀眾多是國民和全球各地活躍的僑民。不過，大陸知名公司如大連萬達、復星國際和樂視影業正進軍國際市場。
American films face a particularly serious challenge in Russia, which ranked seventh among national markets last year and is rapidly growing: As new political tensions rise, some Russian officials and others have discussed quotas or even a ban on American films.
For major producers like QED International or Red Granite Pictures , the loss of Russian sales would be a blow because they have increasingly relied on foreign buyers for the funds to make some major American films.
美國電影在俄國遇到的挑戰特別大，去年俄國總票房收入在全球排名第七，而且電影市場快速成長，但由於與美國關係日趨緊張，俄國某些官員和其他人士正在討論要對進口美國片設定上限，甚至全面封殺。
對美國大型製片公司如QED國際、紅岩電影來說，失去俄國市場損失慘重，因為這些公司日漸仰賴外國買主提供資金，好拍攝某些大片。
“The studios seem to be in a de-risking strategy,” said Riza Aziz, co-owner of Red Granite. He spoke of increasing reluctance by American studios to use their own capital, relying instead on money raised by others, often through foreign sales.
Rena Ronson, who handles film finance and other issues for Hollywood’s United Talent Agency, said the world market remains vibrant but increasingly demands that almost everything — genre, star, story, distribution plan — be perfectly aligned.
Ms. Ronson said, “You have to tick all the boxes.”
紅岩電影老闆之一阿濟茲說：「美國製片廠似乎都在降低風險。」他的意思是，美國片廠越來越不想動用自己的資金，而是依靠別人籌到的資金，通常透過電影的海外銷售得來。
好萊塢「聯合人才經紀公司」負責為電影籌錢等事務的蕾娜．朗森說，全球電影市場仍然興旺，只是越來越要求幾乎所有細節完美配合，包括電影類型、卡司、故事、發行計畫等。
朗森說：「你得滿足所有要求。」
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