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Hollywood may have contracted a disease.
好莱坞可能染上了一种病。
Sequel-itis, an infestation of unnecessary sequels, is spreading through movie theaters, resulting in poor reviews and weak box-office numbers.
“续集病”——一种症状为拍摄不必要续集的传染病——正在电影院蔓延，结果是招致差评和低迷的票房。
"Sequels can make a lot of money, but the ones that didn't do so well were movies that I don't think there was a high demand for a follow-up," says Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango.com and Movies.com.
凡丹戈售票网和电影网的总编埃里克·戴维斯说：“拍续集能赚很多钱，但是票房不佳的那些续集是我认为观众对其没有很高需求的续集。”
Despite scattered successes, including last weekend's $40.4 million opening for horror movie The Conjuring 2, this year has been a disappointment for studios hoping to capitalize on previous hits. On average, the 16 sequels released in 2016 have done 18% worse in their first weekend, with Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising falling 57% from the original film (despite favorable reviews), The Huntsman: Winter's War tumbling 66% and Alice Through The Looking Glass nosediving 78%, according to Box Office Mojo.
尽管取得了零星成功(包括在上周末、也是首映周末斩获4040万美元的恐怖片《招魂2》)，但期待对之前的票房大片好好利用的电影公司今年基本上都大失所望。根据美国票房网统计，平均而言，2016年上映的16部续集在首映周末的票房都要比之前少18%，其中《邻居大战2：姐妹会崛起》比前作的票房少了57%(尽管影评人对它青睐有加)，《猎神：冬日之战》比前作的票房减少了66%，《爱丽丝梦游仙境2：镜中奇遇记》比前作的票房大跌了78%。
Pixar's eagerly anticipated Finding Nemo follow-up Finding Dory could save the summer box office, of course, but analysts are still trying to understand: Why are sequels doing so poorly?
观众热盼的皮克斯动画制片公司出品的《海底总动员》续集《海底总动员2：多莉去哪儿》可能会拯救暑期票房。这是自然，但是分析人士仍然在设法弄明白：续集的表现为何如此糟糕？
For starters, says Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, some of these movies just didn't need to be made. Critics seem to agree, with the 16 sequels averaging a half-hearted 44% approval rating on review site RottenTomatoes.com.
北美院线联盟的票房分析师杰夫·博克说，首先，有些续集压根就没必要拍。影评人似乎同意这种观点，上述16部续集在烂番茄网站上的平均好感度仅为44%。
“We didn't need to see another Huntsman. We didn't need another Neighbors 2, another Now You See Me 2,” Bock says.
博克说：“我们原本不需要看到《白雪公主与猎人》的续集。我们也不需要看到《邻居大战》的续集和《惊天魔盗团》的续集。”
"Just because a movie is an unexpected hit doesn't mean that they need to crank out another installment," adds Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.com.
康姆斯科分析公司的资深媒体分析师保罗·德加拉贝迪安说：“不能仅凭一部电影的意外热映就说明需要拍续集。”
Part of the problem is when sequels do well, they flourish, Bock says. Captain America: Civil War made $179 million in its first weekend. Since The Avengers in 2012, seven corresponding movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have averaged $125 million openings.
博克表示，一个问题是，当续集创出佳绩后，它们就会铺天盖地。《美国队长3：英雄内战》在首映周末斩获1.79亿美元票房。自《复仇者联盟》于2012年上映后，“漫威电影宇宙”中的7部相关电影的平均首映周末票房达到1.25亿美元。
To roll out hit after hit, year after year, with the same cast of characters, is the dream. "Every studio in town is trying to do what Disney and Marvel is doing," Bock says.
电影公司的梦想就是年复一年地推出由同一班角色出演的一部又一部大片。博克说：“好莱坞的所有电影公司都在设法做迪士尼公司以及漫威公司在做的事情。”
Studios are also trying to capitalize on the "binge-watching" audiences captured by Netflix and Hulu. "(Movie studios) feel the need to push the product even faster," says Bock. Two-thirds of this year's sequels were released within three years of the original movie. "The problem is, it's hard to do these films this well, this quickly. It's a different beast."
电影公司同样在设法招揽奈飞公司和“葫芦”视频网站所攻陷的喜欢“追剧”的观众。博克说：“(电影公司)感到有必要更迅速地推出产品。”今年推出的续集中有三分之二都是在前作上映不到三年后上映的。“问题是，很难如此精良和迅速地摄制影片的续集。”
"When movies are rushed, they fail to capture what made the first movie special, Davis says. "The second movie has to set itself apart from the last one," he says. "That doesn't always happen."
戴维斯说：“匆忙赶制的电影不能抓住让第一部作品显得独特的精髓。”他说：“第二部电影必须让自己与上一部区别开来。这并不是总能发生的。”
