當《重返地球》在5月31日北美首映周末只拿下平平無奇的2750萬美元票房時，媒體迅速將其恰如其分地標注成一枚炸彈。

　　When After Earth opened to a mediocre $27.5 million in North America during the weekend of May 31, the media was quick to rightfully label it a bomb.

　　那么《重返地球》首映到底有多糟糕？嗯，威爾·史密斯另一部令人失望的電影《飆風戰(zhàn)警》，1999年首映周末拿下2770萬美元。《重返地球》甚至趕不上一部10幾年前被視為徹底失敗的電影。因此，許多人開始質疑史密斯的吸引力。在好萊塢，僅需一次大失所望，就有人開始寫你的祭文了。

　　Just how bad was After Earth’s opening? Well, Wild Wild West, another disappointment from After Earth star Will Smith, made $27.7 million during its opening weekend in 1999. After Earth couldn’t even match a film that was viewed as complete failure more than ten years ago. As a result, many are now questioning the drawing power of Smith. In Hollywood, it takes only one big disappointment for people to start writing your obituary.

　　然而當本文付印之時，《重返地球》于7月12日在中國首映，這也提出一個有趣的問題：中國能否拯救在北美失利的電影？至于《重返地球》，最可能的答案是“不能”。這部夏季的科幻電影要完成似《鋼鐵俠3》那樣的數(shù)字是不太可能的，而且它或許需要超越《鋼鐵俠3》，才能彌補在（北美）主場的不佳表現(xiàn)。

　　Yet After Earth’s opening in China on July 12 is raising an interesting question as this issue goes to print: Can China save a movie that failed in North America? In the case of After Earth, the answer is most likely no. It’s unlikely that the sci-fi movie will put up the kind of numbers that Iron Man 3 managed this summer, and it would probably need to exceed Iron Man 3 in order to help make up for the poor performance at home.

　　盡管如此，來自中國的票房收入仍然可能會幫忙在主場失利的好萊塢電影扭轉命運。即使2013年對于在中國的好萊塢電影而言是相對緩慢的，潛力仍然存在。例如，美國觀眾可能厭倦了某位明星，但那位明星在中國保不準仍有擁躉。或者一個特定的題材可能讓美國人感覺陳腐老套，但中國影迷或許仍能樂在其中。

　　Still, it is very possible that grosses from China could help turn around the fortunes of a Hollywood film that failed to catch on at home. Even though 2013 has been a relatively slow year for Hollywood films in China, the potential is still there. For instance, American audiences may grow tired of a star, but that star might still have a passionate following in China. Or a particular subject matter may feel old and stale to Americans, but Chinese moviegoers may still find some value in it.

　　好萊塢迅速學習到，美國影迷和中國影迷觀影取向常常迥然不同。如果一部電影能打動美國觀眾，那就未必能打動中國觀眾；反之亦然。只有通過不斷摸索，好萊塢才能學會如何在中國取得真正的成功。不幸的是，錯誤通常相當昂貴。

　　Hollywood is quickly learning that American moviegoers and Chinese moviegoers often have very different expectations when they go to the movies. If a film connects in America it might not connect in China, and vise versa. Only through trial and error will Hollywood learn how to truly succeed in China. Unfortunately, the errors are often quite costly.

　　我認為在未來幾年里，票房一定會讓我們喜出望外。我們會看到越來越多的例子，一部電影在北美敗北，但在中國卻完全打破預期，讓好萊塢片商彈冠相慶。似這樣不可預知的情況，是觀察中國之類如此飛速發(fā)展的電影市場的迷人之處。

　　I think over the next few years we are in for some real surprises at the box office. We’ll see more and more instances where Hollywood distributors cheer up after a film shatter expectations in China after failing in North America. Unpredictable situations like that are what’s so fascinating about watching a film market like China grow as fast as it is.