Holiday 2014 Forecast: 'Horrible Bosses 2'
http://bit.ly/1x8H17w
by Ray Subers
Horrible Bosses 2
Release Date: November 26th
Studio: Warner Bros.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sean Anders
Writers: Sean Anders & John Morris
幕后人员说明：老板不是人第一集的导演Seth Gordon因为行程冲突退出了本片的制作。
接替的导演Sean Anders是近年来窜起速度颇快的喜剧编剧兼导演，他的代表作除了与
老板不是人部分主角合作的公路喜剧“全家就是米家”外，今年让金凯瑞咸鱼翻身的“
阿呆与阿瓜2”也是由他负责剧本。
Sean Anders除了找来过往合作伙伴John Morris再次合作编写“老板不是人2”的剧本，
第一集成功的功臣John Francis Daley与Jonathan Goldstein这次也有挂名续集的编剧
群，但这次的主导者明显还是以Anders为主
Cast: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day,Jennifer Aniston, Kevin
Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine,Christoph Waltz
演员：除了电视喜剧出身的三位谐星继续担任“不爽老板小组”的成员外，柯林法洛以
外(因剧情安排)在第一集出现的三位大牌影星也有回锅参与演出。这一集还另外找来了
两位一线影星增加卖座行情－以“星际争霸战”走红的型男克里斯派恩，以及两届奥斯
卡得主克里斯多夫沃兹
Studio Description: Dale, Kurt and Nick decide to start their own business
but things don't go as planned because of a slick investor, prompting the
trio to pull off a harebrained and misguided kidnapping scheme.
剧情简介：“不爽老板小组”的三位麻吉决定离开原公司自行创业，但事情并没有想像
中那么顺利－因为他们遇上了更狡猾的投机客。更糟糕的是，三人组还因此卷入一起
轻率起头且错误接连的绑架案。
Analysis: The first Horrible Bosses was one of the bigger hits of Summer
2011: after opening to $28.3 million, it held well and closed with over $117
million total. The entire (surviving) cast of that movie returns for Horrible
Bosses 2, which Warner Bros. will release nationwide over Thanksgiving
weekend.
分析：2011年暑假档上映的“老板不是人”，是当年在影坛被视为惊喜的卖座喜剧－
他在美国的首映票房尽管不到三千万美金，但还是在不错的口碑效应下将总票房拉抬
到破亿。如今，在上一集中所有“还活着”的角色，都答应了回锅续集的演出，并且
被华纳影业视为今年感恩节假期的一大强档。
Comedy sequels tend to be a mixed bag: for every 22 Jump Street, there's a
Grown Ups 2.
喜剧续集的票房其实不是太好预测，因为他们即使有像今年“龙虎少年队”比前集更火
热的案例，却也有去年“亚当转大人”比前集衰退的情形。
注：亚当2的衰退幅度还算是比较轻微的，北美票房仍有破亿，不过跟第一集相比仍有
18%的跌幅。至于龙虎少年队第二集的票房与第一集相比则是进步了38%
They seem to be most successful when they're closely-timed to the original:
for example, Jump Street was released less than two-and-a-half years after
its predecessor. In contrast, Horrible Bosses 2 is arriving nearly
three-and-a-half years later, leaving open the possibility that moviegoers
have moved on from this group of hapless criminals.
喜剧续集要成功的关键因子，就是跟前集的时间差不能拉得太远。举例来说，上段提到
的“龙虎少年队2”，与第一集的时间距离还不到2年6个月。相对来说，老板不是人第
一集上映时已经是超过3年又4个月的事情了，这有可能导致观众即使看过第一集，恐怕
也已经遗忘了这群倒楣的笨犯人。
It's also odd that the movie is being released over Thanksgiving weekend.
There's no real precedent for releasing R-rated comedies during that frame:
the closest comparison would be 2008's Four Christmases, a PG-13 comedy
that's also from Warner Bros./New Line.
“老板不是人2”把档期放在感恩节周末也是一个比较不容易让人理解的决策，毕竟过往
从来没有任何一部限制级喜剧会排在此时上映。唯一最接近的对照组，应该是同样由华
纳/新线在2008出品的公路浪漫喜剧“真爱囧冤家”－但囧冤家的尺度并没有老板不是人
那么大胆，它的分级还是年轻人可以单独进场的PG-13级。
While it may not be able to match its predecessor, it probably won't fall off
too far, either. In the time off since the first movie, most of the stars
have been involved with a major hit: Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston
teamed up for We're the Millers ($150.4 million), Jason Bateman had Identity
Thief ($134.5 million), and Jamie Foxx held together Django Unchained ($162.8
million).
“老板不是人2”的票房虽然不大可能搭上第一集的数字，但应该也不会下坠太多，毕竟
在“老1”推出之后，主角群也缴出了各自发展后的票房热卖片－杰森苏戴西斯与珍妮佛
安尼斯顿去年再度合体的“全家就是米家”在美国突破1.5亿美金、杰森贝特曼的犯罪喜
剧“窃资达人”也有1.3亿，杰米福克斯转战西部的“绝杀令”不但有1.6亿，还提名了
包括奥斯卡在内的不少奖项。
The movie also adds Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix: both actors
have been featured in marketing material, which is helping to differentiate
the sequel. Add in plenty of solid laugh lines (the often-used "$500 million"
gag is a good one), and this could be in line to hold on to most of its
predecessor's audience.
“老板不是人2”另外还添加了两位英文名叫克里斯的人气明星－克里斯派恩与克里斯多
夫沃兹饰演的邪恶父子档，而这两人也的确在预告片、海报等宣传素材中，占有不小的
份量，这应该有帮助影迷区别这两部系列电影的作用。加上预告中呈现的笑点品质还算
不错(包括最常出现的“五亿美金赎金”梗)，“老板不是人2”最终应该还是可以让当初
看过第一集的不少影迷，继续回流电影院。
译注：电影中的五亿美金赎金梗出自于此片段－http://youtu.be/3jUyvtOd-Oo
Forecast: $100 million