At first glance, the new Harry¹ Potter prequel "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" hardly seems tailor-made for Chinese audiences, especially given its elements of witchcraft² and the supernatural — which can be a deal breaker for China's state censors³.

乍一看之下，这部《哈利·波特》前传《神奇动物在哪里》不是为中国观众定制的，尤其是其中的魔法和超自然元素--这些在中国的电影审查方面可能会遇到大问题。

But nearly 20 million people have purchased Chinese versions of J.K. Rowling's novels about the boy wizard since they were first available across the Pacific 16 years ago.

但是自从16年前JK罗琳小说《哈利·波特》第一次在太平洋地区发售以来，已经有近2000万中国人购买了它的中译本。

And hordes⁴ of adoring fans propelled the last Harry Potter film, 2011's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," to $60.8 million at the Chinese box office, back when the country's total theatrical⁵ gross was about $2 billion.

而且2011年《哈利·波特》系列电影最后一部《哈利·波特与死亡圣器下》上映的时候，大批中国粉丝贡献了6080万美元的票房，而当时中国的总票房还只有20亿美元。

Although it's been five years since the last movie, Potter-mania hasn't waned⁶.

虽然自从最后一部电影结束已经5年过去了，但是《哈利·波特》的狂热并没有退去。

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the eighth book in the series — and a script for a London stage play — quickly sold out its initial 300,000 copy print run when it became available for preorder in China in late September.

九月下旬，当该系列第8部小说《哈利·波特与被诅咒的孩子》（伦敦还演出了该部小说的同名舞台剧）在中国开始预售时，第一批30万本图书很快就售罄了。

That's why Warner Bros.' is counting on "Fantastic Beasts," the first "Harry Potter" film since "Deathly Hallows Part 2," to be a monster at the Chinese box office, which could really use one after its worst slump⁷ in five years amid a dearth⁸ of bankable hits and a reduction of online ticketing subsidies⁹.

这也是为什么华纳兄弟正指望《哈利·波特与死亡圣器下》之后的又一部哈利·波特系列电影《神奇动物》可以在中国票房市场上大赚四方，在由于缺少卖座电影以及网络售票补贴减少等原因而面临五年来最严重的衰退之后，《神奇动物在哪里》成了华纳兄弟真正可以仰仗的东西。

The film, a prequel set in 1920s New York, opens there on Nov. 25, one week after its stateside debut¹⁰.

神奇动物在哪里》是《哈利·波特》系列的前传，背景设在上世纪20年代的纽约，在美国上映一周后将于11月25日登陆中国内地影院。

To ramp¹¹ up the anticipation¹², all eight "Harry Potter" films were screened at last June's Shanghai International Film Festival.

为加大对这部电影的预期，此前的全部8部《哈利·波特》系列电影都在去年6月份的上海国际电影节上进行了放映。