在这个夏季，好莱坞与中国的发展关系正走势强劲。《钢铁侠3》的成功预示这个忙碌一年的剩余时光前景甚好。
The Hollywood-China relationship is off to a strong start this summer. The success of Iron Man 3 bodes well for the rest of this busy time of year.
在我写这篇文时，《钢铁侠3》在中国市场正快速冲破一亿美元大关。这部动作电影已然成为全球票房的大热门，并已加入《爱丽丝梦游仙境》、《玩具总动员3》以及其他影片的行列进入10亿全球票房的高等俱乐部。这一成就值得全世界的影院运营商为其庆祝。
As I write this, Iron Man 3 is quickly on its way to hitting $100 million in China. The action film is a huge hit globally. It has joined the ranks of Alice In Wonderland, Toy Story 3 and others in the exclusive $1 billion global gross club. This accomplishment should be celebrated by movie theater operators around the world.
《钢铁侠3》最牛的，也许是，其在中国能取得如此出色票房，竟然同期撞上了票房同样火爆的《致我们终将逝去的青春》。这里透出的一个清晰的信息：中国与美国电影界的强强携手有助于市场增长。我们完全不需要把它看成一场竞赛，这里显然有足够多的市场发展空间，而且未来的业务扩展会更多更大。
Perhaps the best part of Iron Man 3’s performance in China is the fact that it was able to succeed at a time when So Young was also doing well at the box office. This sends a clear message that the combined strength of Chinese and American films can help grow the market. We do not need to look at it as a competition. There is clearly enough business to go around, and there will be even more business in the years to come.
当为中国打造电影题材时，好莱坞正在学习什么可行什么不可行。学习并非一蹴而就。《钢铁侠3》中国版的植入式广告反应并不积极。此教训是，好莱坞不能把中国简单地当作一个充满无知客户的市场，应用在美国观众上的标准必须同样适用于中国观众，这样才会减缓未来的不利反响。植入式广告是行业的重要组成，因为内容提供商可以借此赚回花在电影上的部分开销，但这些广告不可背离电影的第一要务：故事情节。
Hollywood is learning what works and what doesn’t when it comes to creating content for China. It’s not always easy. Reactions to product placement in the Chinese version of Iron Man 3 were not positive. The lesson here is that Hollywood cannot simply treat China as a market full of unaware customers. The same standards that are applied to American audiences must be applied to Chinese audiences. This will reduce any backlash in the future. Product placements are an important part of the industry because they allow content creators to gain back some of the money they spent on the film, but these advertisements cannot distract from the #1 priority: the story.
《钢铁侠3》的成功——以及在此之前的《复仇者联盟》——标志着一个变化的时代。好莱坞比任何时候都更着魔地追求制造全球票房过十亿美元的目标。算术很简单：当你用6个月花费2.5亿美元能创下全球10亿票房时，为什么还要用6个月花费6千万美元去拿2亿的票房呢？制片商渴望利用人气角色竭尽所能地一直向十亿美元大关冲刺。
The success of Iron Man 3—and The Avengers before it—marks a sign of the changing times. Hollywood is more obsessed than ever with the concept of making films that can reach $1 billion globally. The math is simple: Why spend six months and $60 million on a film that might make $200 million worldwide when you can spend six months and $250 million on a film that might make $1 billion worldwide? Studios are eager to capitalize on popular characters in order to consistently get as close to the $1 billion mark as they possibly can.
中国在（好莱坞的）这个新的渴求中扮演着重要的角色。更多原创电影的中国票房将具备与其北美票房媲美——甚至是超越——的潜力，这一天将很快到来。这意味着好莱坞需要赶快琢磨清楚成功的道道，理解中国市场对其现今商业模式的成功至关重要。《钢铁侠3》的票房表明他们已经找到了探求个中奥秘的门径。
China will play a very large role in this new obsession. The day will soon come when more original films will have the potential to match—or even exceed—their North American haul in China. That means that Hollywood needs to figure out real quick what works and what doesn’t. Understanding the Chinese market is crucial to the success of their current business model. The Iron Man 3 grosses indicate that they are well on their way to figuring things out.