Global film powerhouse Sony Pictures Entertainment has partnered with Chinese property-to-movies group Dalian Wanda to co-invest in films as well as distribute across Wanda’s broad network of cinemas, the two companies said.

全球电影巨擘索尼影视娱乐公司(Sony Pictures Entertainment)和中国由地产转型电影的集团大连万达(Dalian Wanda)表示，两家公司已携手合作，以便共同投资电影制作，并通过万达分布广泛的院线网络开展电影发行。

Wanda, which began life as a real estate¹ investor² in the port city of Dalian, makes a point of embedding³ large, US-style cinemas as well as an anchor chain stores such as Walmart in its property developments across China.

万达是起家于港口城市大连的房地产投资商，该集团十分重视让大型美国式影院及沃尔玛(Walmart)等连锁商店入驻其全国楼盘的策略。

The move has given it an enviable role in blockbuster ticket sales in China and spurred its investment in overseas cinemas and a sprawling⁴ production studio in northern Shandong province.

此举令该集团在中国大片票房销售中取得了令人羡慕的有利地位，也刺激了它对境外影院和山东省一个不断扩张的电影制作室的投资。

The latest deal, described as a strategic alliance that will include equity⁵ co-financing in some cases follows Wanda’s purchase of AMC, the US cinema chain, and Legendary⁶ Pictures, the producer of Godzilla and Warcraft

这一最新协议被称为在某些情况下将包括股权融资合作的战略结盟。该协议出台之前，万达曾收购美国电影院线AMC，以及电影《哥斯拉》(Godzilla)和《魔兽》(Warcraft)的制作商传奇影业(Legendary Pictures)。

Hollywood has rapidly engaged in business tie-ups with Chinese companies in an effort to build a global audience as cinema attendance is eroded⁷ by customers’ preference for streaming movies.

当客户对在线电影的偏好侵蚀影院上座率之际，好莱坞正迅速与中国企业达成商业合作，试图打造全球性观众群。

The result is a parade of action and fantasy blockbusters designed to appeal to China’s audience of younger men.

这一局面导致了一连串举措和多部旨在吸引中国年轻观众的玄幻大片。

China’s box office revenues gained 48 per cent from a year earlier to $7.1bn last year, while box office growth in North America was limited to 7 per cent at $11.1bn.

去年，中国票房总收入达到71亿美元，同比增长48%。与此同时，北美票房增长幅度则限制在7%，票房总收入为111亿美元。

In a further sign of its growing global ambitions in cinema, Wanda last month agreed with IMAX to build 150 screens across China in the next six years.

上个月，万达还曾与IMAX达成协议，今后6年在全中国建设150块屏幕，进一步显示了万达在院线建设方面不断增长的全球野心。

Sony Pictures distributes its films in China through China Film Co and Huaxia Film Distribution — two of the state-owned gatekeepers that control the quotas⁸ for foreign films distributed in the country.

索尼影业在中国的电影发行是通过中国电影股份有限公司(China Film Co)和华夏电影发行有限公司(Huaxia Film Distribution)实施的，这两家国有门户企业控制着外国电影在华发行的配额。

For Sony’s Hollywood arm, a partnership⁹ with Wanda is expected to give it more flexibility¹⁰ to tap into China’s tightly controlled market with its growth dependent on expanding the global reach of its films.

对索尼(Sony)旗下这一好莱坞分公司来说，该公司的增长依赖于所制作电影在全球的传播，与万达的合作预计会令其在进入严密控制的中国市场方面获得更大自由。