Approaching the end of the Year of the Pig, it's time to take a retrospective of Chinese cinema last year.

随着猪年即将步入尾声，是时候来回顾下去年的中国电影啦。

After shivering for most time in "a severe winter", China's film industry ended 2019 on a hopeful note.

去年大多数时候，“寒冬论”不绝于耳，但好在2019年的中国电影产业最后还是以一个充满希望的调子奏响尾音。

 With the number of screens in urban areas reaching 69,787 — more than any other country — the nation's box offices grossed 64.3 billion yuan ($9.23 billion), up by 5.4 percent from 2018, according to the China Film Administration, the sector's top regulator.

根据国家电影局发布的最新数据，全国银幕总数已达69787块，高居全球之首，去年全国电影总票房约643亿（约合92.3亿美元），同比增长5.4%。

By comparison, North America — the world's largest movie market — grossed $11.3 billion, down by 4.8 percent year-on-year, according to movie data tracking website Box Office Mojo.

而与此同时，据电影网站Box Office Mojo的数据，作为全球最大电影市场的北美，去年电影总票房则为113亿美元，同比下降4.8%。

 One highlight last year was the strong performance of Chinese blockbusters.

去年最大的一个亮点，是国产影片表现强劲。

Of the 10 highest-grossing titles, eight were Chinese and the remaining two were Hollywood productions. In both 2017 and 2018, six of the top 10 films were made by Chinese studios.

在去年票房排名前十的影片中，有八部是国产片，其余两部是好莱坞影片。而在2017年和2018年，票房最高的十部影片中，国产片只占六席。

In addition, 47 of the 88 movies that took more than 100 million yuan at the box office last year were made by Chinese filmmakers.

此外，全年票房过亿影片88部，其中国产电影47部。

 The top sleeper hit last year is Ne Zha, the directorial debut feature from animator Jiaozi. It unexpectedly rescued a flagging summer almost single-handedly, becoming the best-performing film last year and also the 11th highest-grossing film worldwide.

最意外之喜的当属饺子导演的长片处女作《哪吒之魔童降世》。几乎凭一己之力，“哪吒”托起了本有些黯淡无光的暑期档，成为去年中国票房最高的影片，也在去年全球票房榜上排名第十一。

The smash hit gripped attentions of some foreign media outlets. For instance, British newspaper The Guardian depicts Ne Zha "like a malignant little Harry Potter", and reviews that "this PG fantasy animation from China features all the mild peril you'd expect from a family-rated movie — plus a smirking demon child…I enjoyed the jolt of strangeness delivered by this world of demons stalking the Earth."

这部爆款作品也引起不少外媒的关注。比如，英国《卫报》形容哪吒像“一个心怀恶意的小哈利·波特”，称“这是一部中国PG级奇幻动画片，蕴含了能从一部家庭电影中看到的所有温和的危险，以及一个笑得邪性的恶魔般的小孩……我很享受这个恶魔潜行的世界所带来的奇特感受。”

 Taking second place after Ne Zha in the highest-grossing slot, The Wandering Earth, a sci-fi blockbuster adapted from the eponymous novel by China's first Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin. It was the 12th top-earning film worldwide.

紧随《哪吒》之后，在去年总票房排行榜上位列第二的是《流浪地球》。这部根据中国首位雨果奖得主刘慈欣小说改编的科幻片，在去年全球票房榜上排名第十二位。

Along with director Ning Hao's Crazy Alien, and other Spring Festival blockbusters such as Han Han's directorial effort Pegasus, The Wandering Earth took the monthly gross in February to 11.2 billion yuan, the world's highest for a single month.

去年春节档期间《流浪地球》的火爆，再加上宁浩导演的《疯狂外星人》及韩寒的《飞驰人生》等卖座大片，也让去年二月的全月票房高达112亿元，创下全球单月最高票房的新纪录。

 Enthusiastic filmgoers hailed The Wandering Earth as the start of "Year Zero" for Chinese sci-fi productions, a genre which had long struggled to earn recognition.

激动的影迷们曾盛赞《流浪地球》开辟了中国科幻片的“元年”，而此前国产科幻片曾长期苦苦挣扎于边缘之境。

But a shadow was cast over their expectations when Shanghai Fortress flopped disastrously in August. One of the most famous online comments signs that the door leading to the rise of Chinese sci-fi films opened by The Wandering Earth is closed by Shanghai Fortress.

但《上海堡垒》在去年八月的扑街，却让科幻迷们对国产科幻片欣欣向荣之势的期待再次蒙上阴影。网上最有名的评论戏称：《流浪地球》打开的中国科幻电影的大门，被《上海堡垒》关上了。

 Liu Cixin responded to sci-fi fans during the 2019 Science Fiction Conference in Beijing. He said: "We should not easily draw conclusions by saying that the door for Chinese sci-fi films to thrive has been opened by just one movie. On the other hand, it's not fair to say that such a door has been closed by a single flop. It's not a rational expectation for the entire industry."

此后，在北京举行的2019中国科幻大会期间，刘慈欣曾对此有过回应，不失为公允之词。他说：“我们不要因为一部电影成功了，就说中国科幻电影产业的大门就打开了。然后一部电影票房有一点失利，好像大门又关上了。这种思维方式不是对产业整体的预期。”

When the genres of animated and sci-fi films have their runaway hits, a group of talented directors has proved that "mainstream melody movies" can become blockbusters.

当动画和科幻这两个类型各自出了爆款之时，一群富有才华的中国导演也证明了：“主旋律”影片拍好了，也能票房大卖。

 During the National Day holiday in October — one of the country's most lucrative box-office seasons — three films triggered uNPRecedented enthusiasm among moviegoers nationwide, propelling ticket sales for the week to 5.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year rise of nearly 136 percent.

作为全年票房最高的档期之一，去年十月的国庆档由三部卖座大片引发了全国范围内的观影热潮，拉动“国庆档”那一周票房高达51.3亿元，同比飙升136%。

The top earner among the three was My People, My Country, an anthology of seven short stories marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

其中，票房最高的是《我和我的祖国》，这部由7个小故事组成的合集电影是建国70周年的献礼影片。

 The other two movies were The Captain, based on the true story of the Sichuan Airlines heroic pilot Liu Chuanjian, and The Climbers, which centers on Chinese mountaineers' ascents of Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest, via the perilous north face in 1960 and 1975.

另外两部分别是《中国机长》和《攀登者》。前者是根据川航英雄机长刘传健的事迹改编，后者是根据中国登山队员在1960年和1975年两次经北坡攀登珠穆朗玛峰的真实故事改编。

 While Chinese filmmakers are energetically diversifying genres and themes, Hollywood is seemingly becoming more conservative, mainly focusing on sequels or spinoffs of lucrative franchises.

当中国电影人积极推进类型和主题的多元化时，好莱坞似乎趋于保守,主要精力放在卖座系列的续集或是番外篇上。

Avengers: Endgame, the 22nd title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, took 4.25 billion yuan to rank as the third-highest-grossing film in China last year. The other import in the top 10 was Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, a spinoff of the Fast & Furious franchise, which ranked 10th.

《复仇者联盟4:终局之战》是漫威电影宇宙的第22部影片，在中国市场拿下42.5亿元位列去年全年票房排行榜上第三名。而第十名则是《速度与激情:特别行动》，算是“速激”系列的一部外传。

 Despite of the success of several Chinese blockbusters, domestic filmmakers are also worried about the polarization in market shares. Figures from the China Film Administration show that 1,037 movies were produced domestically last year. However, the top 10 took 28.57 billion yuan, or 44.4 percent of the box office tally for the entire year, indicating that a majority of filmmakers behind small- and middle-budget movies have been struggling to survive.

尽管国产影片不乏爆款，中国电影人对目前市场两极分化严重，也心怀隐忧。据国家电影局的数据，去年全年生产影片1037部，但票房前十的10部影片其票房总收入在285.7亿元，约合去年全年票房综合的44.4%，这也就意味着大量中小成本影片仍在求生存之路上挣扎。

无论怎样，希望新的一年，中国电影能更好，也希望我们能看到更多的优秀国产片面世。