# Movie

Source 纽约时报

Listening

‘Aquaman’ is already a box office titan

Reading

The box office action over the weekend took place in China, where “Aquaman” collected $94 million in tickets, validating a risky plan by Warner Bros. to release the movie in the Middle Kingdom before anywhere else.

Chinese audiences have grown more selective about Hollywood movies, at times displaying a new preference for locally made movies like the extravagant “Operation Red Sea, ” directed by Dante Lam, known as the Michael Bay of Asia.

The upshot: “Aquaman, ” starring Jason Momoa as the DC Comics superhero and directed by James Wan, could have easily flopped in China, which would have left a stink on the movie before its global rollout. “Aquaman, ” which cost an estimated $350 million to make and market worldwide, will arrive in 40 more countries Friday. Audiences in North America will have the chance to see it starting Dec. 21.

Why didn’t Warner just release “Aquaman” this weekend in North America as well?

The two weekends after Thanksgiving in the United States are typically among the slowest moviegoing periods of the year, as holiday shopping and related festivities take priority. There were no new wide-release films over the weekend in North America, where the No.1 movie was once again “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (Disney), which collected about $16.1 million, for a three-week domestic total of $140.9 million, according to comScore.

Summary

‘Aquaman’ is already a box office titan

《海王》已经票房大爆

• box office 票房

• titan 巨人

The box office action over the weekend took place in China, where “Aquaman” collected $94 million in tickets, validating a risky plan by Warner Bros. to release the movie in the Middle Kingdom before anywhere else.

上周末在中国发生了票房大战，经此一役《海王》狂揽 9400 万美元票房收入，这意味着华纳兄弟将电影最先安排在中国上映的冒险计划效果不错。

• box office action 票房大战

• collect $ in tickets 票房收入

• validate v. prove or confirm sth is true or correct 证实、确认…有效

  validate a theory 证明理论

  validate a contract 合同生效

• the middle Kingdom 中国 （非常不正式）

Chinese audiences have grown more selective about Hollywood movies, at times displaying a new preference for locally made movies like the extravagant “Operation Red Sea,” directed by Dante Lam, known as the Michael Bay of Asia.

中国观众对好莱坞电影是越来越挑剔了，有时候还会对国产片心生偏爱，像是巨制《红海行动》。执导该片的导演林超贤，被誉为“亚洲的迈克尔·贝”。

• selective adj. 精挑细选的，挑剔的

  selective education 精英教育

  a selective school 精英学校

• at times = sometimes

• extravagant /ɪkˈstrævəɡənt/ adj. 过度的，奢侈的，昂贵的；令人赞叹的

  an extravagant present

  an extravagant lifestyle

The upshot: “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa as the DC Comics superhero and directed by James Wan, could have easily flopped in China, which would have left a stink on the movie before its global rollout. “Aquaman,” which cost an estimated $350 million to make and market worldwide, will arrive in 40 more countries Friday. Audiences in North America will have the chance to see it starting Dec. 21.

意想不到的结果：由杰森·莫玛扮演 DC 漫画超级英雄，温子仁执导，《海王》原本很有可能在中国面临惨败，这也就意味着在其全球首映之前引起轩然大波。本周五，这部耗资约 3.5 亿美元打造并在全球推广的电影《海王》将在其它 40 国上映。从 12 月 21 日起，北美观众就有机会观看这部电影了。

• upshot n. result / outcome 结果（意料之外的结果或结局）

• star v.由…出演

• DC Comics superhero DC漫画超级英雄

• could have done 虚拟语气

• flop /flɑːp/ v. 猛然坐下； 彻底失败，惨败

  Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair.

• stink n.吵闹，争吵；麻烦；不快

  leave/cause a stink 引起争议/轩然大波

• rollout n.首映；首次展示

Why didn’t Warner just release “Aquaman” this weekend in North America as well?

为什么华纳兄弟不干脆把《海王》在北美上映的日期也定在本周末呢？

• release v. 发行

The two weekends after Thanksgiving in the United States are typically among the slowest moviegoing periods of the year, as holiday shopping and related festivities take priority. There were no new wide-release films over the weekend in North America, where the No.1 movie was once again “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (Disney), which collected about $16.1 million, for a three-week domestic total of $140.9 million, according to comScore.

（因为）在美国，感恩节后的两个周末处于一年中典型的观影淡季，在此期间，人们会优先进行假期购物和举行相关的庆祝活动。本周末在北美没有新的大片上映，位居榜首的依然是迪士尼出品的《无敌破坏王 2：大闹互联网》，根据 comScore 的数据，该片票房收入约为 1610 万美元，为期三周的国内票房总额达到了 1.409 亿美元。

• domestic adj.国内的