The LEGO Movie has turned into a surprise global hit for Warner Bros..The studio's first animated effort in over two years has grossed more than $200 million worldwide as of this writing.
《乐高大电影》已出乎意料地成为华纳兄弟影业的全球热门大片。截至完稿日，该工作室两年多来的这首部动画作品赢得了超过2亿美元的全球票房。
In North America, LEGO is the fifth-highest grossing WB animated film of all-time (swiftly topping their most recent cartoon, Happy Feet Two and its $64 million domestic run).Happy Feet ($198 million) and The Polar Express ($162.8 million original run, $183.4 million lifetime)represent the studio's best domestic earners, but LEGO is having no problem making more money.
在北美，《乐高大电影》是华纳兄弟史上第五大最卖座动画片（迅速超越了该公司近期最卖座动画——《快乐的大脚2》在国内收获的6400万美元）。《快乐的大脚》（1.98亿美元）和《极地特快》（首映1.628亿美元，上映期间收入1.834亿美元）代表了工作室在国内最佳盈利战果，但《乐高大电影》持续吸金绝不是问题。
Founded in Denmark in 1949, the LEGO company has become a generational brand. The block-building line of toys evolved into an immensely broad franchise consisting of video games, retail stores, theme parks serving as popular family destinations, and an impressive line of licensing partners that has expanded the LEGO establishment since 1999.
That's when the company began its game-changing relationship with Lucasfilm and Star Wars, still the hottestproperty on LEGO's list of licensors which includes Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Batman, Toy Story,Spider- Man, Spongebob Squarepants, and many more. The company's global market share has since topped Hasbro and moved closer to that of Mattel.
乐高公司成立于1949年丹麦，已经成为一个好几代人的品牌。其堆积木玩具系列也演变成非常广阔的特许经营活动，包括视频游戏、零售商店、针对普通家庭游玩的主题公园，以及令人印象深刻的系列特许合作伙伴，自1999年起大大扩展了乐高帝国。那一年，该公司启动了与卢卡斯影业、星球大战之间开始改变游戏局面的合作，迄今乐高的授权商名单中最畅销的商品仍然包括哈利·波特、指环王、蝙蝠侠、玩具总动员、蜘蛛侠、海绵宝宝等等。该公司全球市场份额此后超越了孩之宝，并直逼美泰公司。
Then, Hollywood came knocking. Warner Bros. landed the chance to make a LEGO movie happen and wisely worked with the toy company throughout the creative process. The next crucial step was hiring the directing/writing/producing team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their ability to successfully dabble in multiple genres made them a perfect choice for the witty and wondrous world of LEGO.
然后，好莱坞来敲门了。华纳兄弟抓住机会让乐高电影成为现实，并在整个创作过程中明智地与这家玩具公司合作。下一个决定性的步骤是聘用了导演/编剧/制作团队菲尔·罗德与克里斯·米勒。他们成功涉猎多种类型影片的能力，令其成为乐高诙谐奇妙世界的完美之选。
Driving themes among enthusiastic critic reviews include an indelible sense of charm expertly blended with adventure and a parent-approved message. That's a winning combination in animation that previously drove Despicable Me and Shrek to their blockbuster numbers. The latter franchise especially, through its fortes of pop culture humor, star voice casts, and strong storytelling, excelled in appealing to all ages. LEGO seems to be taking up the mantle.
在热心评论家中掀起热议的话题，包括该片将“冒险精神”与“家长认可的信息”熟练地融合，颇有难以忘怀的魅力。这种成功的动画组合推动之前的《卑鄙的我》与《怪物史瑞克》不同凡响的票房。尤其是他们后期的系列，呈现出流行文化幽默的拿手好戏、明星配音阵容、强劲的故事情节，擅长俘获所有年龄段观众。《乐高大电影》似乎继承了他们的衣钵。
Also not to be forgotten is the timing of LEGO's blockbusting stature.Disne's Frozen is still going strong nearly three months after release, while Open Road's The Nut Job surprised with its $19.4 million North American opening in January. There certainly were excuses for a modest jump out of the gate by LEGO, but they turned out to be unnecessary. Only March 2012's The Lorax opened higher (slightly, at $70.2 million)among animated titles released outside of the summer andholiday seasons. LEGO also became the secondbest February opener in history,only trailing The Passion of the Christ's $83.9 million in 2004.
别忘了《乐高大电影》造成轰动效应的时间段。迪士尼的《冰雪奇缘》在上映后接近3个月仍走势强劲，而开路影业的《抢劫坚果店》在1月北美上映则惊喜收获1940万美元票房。《乐高大电影》首映伊始不温不火当然也是情有可原的，但结果却大相径庭。剔除夏季和假期档上映的动画片，只有2012年3月的《老雷斯的故事》首局更高（稍高一点，为7020万美元）。《乐高大电影》也成为有史以来2月首映第二高票房的电影，紧随2004年《耶稣受难记》的8390万美元票房。
Budget-wise, the film's estimated $120 million production and marketing costs were less than half of Pixar's Brave ($255 million), and still significantly less than Wreck-It Ralph ($230 million). LEGO's team of builders smartly kept costs down to the reasonable levels previously enjoyed by the Despicable Me flicks, as well as Sony's Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs series.
从预算的角度来看，这部电影制作与营销成本估计为1.2亿美元，比皮克斯的《勇敢传说》（2.55亿美元）一半还少，且明显低于《无敌破坏王》（2.3亿美元）。《乐高大电影》创作团队出色地把成本管控在合理的水平上，就像之前的《卑鄙的我》、《精灵旅社》与《天降美食》系列。
It's likely that LEGO's success will soon be felt. Hollywood has been in need of a way to get audiences into theaters outside the peak summer and holiday seasons. Recent blockbusters like The Hunger Games (March 2012)and Gravity (October 2013) have shone a light on the lucrative potential of well-executed, broadly appealing movies opening during the year's off-peak months.
《乐高大电影》的成功有可能很快会被人们感受到。好莱坞一直需要另辟蹊径，在夏季高峰期与假期以外时段吸引观众进入影院。近期轰动票房的影片，比如《饥饿游戏》（2012年3月）与《地心引力》（2013年10月）就在一年中非高峰月份首映，但周密策划实施、广受欢迎，就为潜在的丰厚利润点亮了一盏明灯。
The takeaways: LEGO has a hugely successful first transition onto the big screen, and Warner Bros. has itself set up with a new animation franchise for the first time in nearly a decade. Don't be shocked if they decide to lock up a February 2017 release date, but from the looks of things, the inevitable sequel could easily compete during any time of year.
余味： 乐高首次“ 触电” 就大获成功，且华纳兄弟影业也是在近十年内首次推出新的动画系列。如果他们决定锁定一个2017年2月的档期，那完全不必大惊小怪，但粗看起来，迟早要来的乐高续集将会轻松地称雄一年中的任何时段。