经济学人142:3D电影举步维艰

 　　3D films struggle

　　3D电影举步维艰

　　Flat expectations

　　预期值过高

　　3D films, cinema’s great hope, have become niche¹ products

　　电影公司最大的希望——3D电影——让人失望了

　　Voldemort looks no prettier in 3D

　　3D版伏地魔并没有更好看

　　TEN years after it took off, Hollywood’s biggest film franchise² has finally alighted from its broomstick. Between July 15th and July 17th Americans shelled out $169m to see “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”—a record for any film, in nominal³ terms. But barely a third of the audience opted⁴ to watch the boy wizard battle his snake-faced foe⁵ in three dimensions.

　　十年前首映的好莱坞最大电影系列《哈利波特》，今日终于走向尾声。7月15至7月17日，《哈利波特与死亡圣器 第二部分》从美国人的口袋中掏走了1.69亿美元——这是任何影院都无法企及的记录。但只有仅仅三分之一的观众选择3D版。

　　Two years ago it seemed as though a new, improved 3D projection⁶ system could rescue a film business battered⁷ by falling DVD sales. Fully⁸ 71% of the box-office spending on “Avatar” on its opening weekend, in December 2009, went on the 3D version. The 3D showings of “Shrek Forever After” (amusing green monsters rather than earnest blue ones) accounted for 61% of American box-office spending. Cinemas generally charge at least $3 more for a 3D showing—far more than the glasses cost.

　　两年前3D模式看似可以挽救一个被（销量日益下滑的）DVD打得伤痕累累的电影行业。2009年12月，《阿凡达》上映一周就有整整71%的票房来自3D影院。《怪物史瑞克》（滑稽的绿色怪物取代了严肃的蓝色怪物）的美国票房有61%来自3D影院。一般来说，电影公司会向3D影院的观众多收取至少3美元——那副眼镜远远值不了这个价。

　　This lucrative⁹ business is now looking flat. Despite rapid growth in digital projectors¹⁰ and 3D-capable screens, the proportion of total box-office spending that goes on 3D has dropped this summer (see chart). Four of the past five 3D blockbusters—“Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Kung Fu Panda 2”, “Green Lantern” and “Harry Potter”—made more money from 2D screens on their opening weekend than from 3D ones. That was true of only one widely released 3D film last summer, and none the year before.

　　这个获利丰厚的行业现在看起来似乎不大乐观。且不说数码投影仪以及3D功能屏幕的发展迅速，今夏3D电影的总票房比例也下降了。刚刚热映的五部3D巨片——《加勒比海盗》、《功夫熊猫》、《绿灯侠》以及《哈利波特》——上映第一个星期赚的票房更多来自2D影院，而非3D影院。去年夏天热映的唯一一部3D电影的时候，情形也是这样，前年就不会这么冷淡。

　　Richard Gelfond, the boss of IMAX, reckons customers have become picky. “People used to see something just because it was in 3D,” he says. Now they ask how much pleasure the glasses will add. The explosive “Transformers 3” did well in 3D; perhaps the 2D version was not sufficiently¹¹ headache-inducing. The key to three-dimensional profits, then, is to put out hugely popular films with extraordinary special effects.

　　IMAX的老总Richard Gelfond认为消费者变得越来越精明了。“过去人们因为3D而选择3D。”他说道。现在人们会质疑这副眼镜能带来多大的愉悦感。巨作《变形金刚3》3D版很卖座，也许是2D版的画面不够震撼。这样说来，要让3D版盈利的关键，就是在那些备受欢迎的影片里加入更多特效。

1 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

2 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

3 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

4 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

5 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

6 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

7 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

10 projectors   

电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Energy projectors fired and peeled off the ships' armor in a flash. 能量投射器开火然后在一阵闪光后剥离了飞船的装甲。
• All classrooms equipped with computers, projectors, video and audio booth, broadcasting equipment. 全部教室配备电脑、投影仪、视频展台和音响、广播设备。

11 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。