Mocked Chinese Animated Film Becomes Surprise Box Office Hit

A low-budget Chinese animated film that was initially mocked for its crude production has become an unexpected box office draw, as viewers turned it into a viral “so bad it must be seen” cinema event.

Niu Lai, a domestic animated feature released on August 5, earned only 3,420 yuan (US$475) on its opening day and had brought in just 7,169 yuan after nine days in theaters. But after online criticism and parody videos spread across social media, ticket sales and screenings skyrocketed.

According to its director Xin Yumeng, the film’s box office surpassed 3 million yuan today. Screenings also rose sharply, from single digits nationwide before August 14 to nearly 2,500 scheduled for today.

The film was released with no publicity. It had no major trailer or cast promotion, and was marketed mainly with a traditional Chinese ink-style poster. Some viewers said the poster had raised expectations for a hand-drawn, poetic animation style, but the actual film featured rough 3D modeling, stiff movement, visual glitches, confusing storytelling and even subtitle errors.

Instead of sinking quietly, the contrast between the poster and the final product became the source of its popularity. Social media users shared complaints, jokes and pirated clips from theaters, pushing related topics onto trending lists. Maoyan’s “want to watch” count rose to more than 20,000, while some viewers bought tickets out of curiosity. Some fans even booked seats in patterns spelling out Chinese characters 牛(Niu) or 牛来 (Niu Lai.)

One viewer in Wuhan told reporters he bought a late-night ticket out of curiosity. “After watching it, I sat there for 3 minutes and couldn’t recover. My mind was blank,” he said, adding that he would not watch it again. “Once is enough torture," according to Jiupai News.

The distributor told Jiangsu Television Station that the director was a friend and that he had advised him not to release the film after seeing the finished version. The director insisted, saying it had been difficult to complete. The distributor said the film had obtained a public screening permit through normal procedures.

According to public information, Niu Lai was filed in 2021 and received its screening permit in 2024. Its production company, Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media, was formerly a decoration company, has a registered capital of 100,000 yuan and reported only one insured employee. Douban lists only two main creators: director Xin Yumeng and screenwriter Sun Lifang, who also handled voice roles.

A relative of the director told Red Star News that the film was made over five years by the director and his mother without a professional team or investors. The mother also sang the ending song.

Industry observers said the film’s release does not indicate a failure of technical review, which mainly checks playback safety rather than artistic quality. Some cinema workers said theaters were justified in adding screenings if audiences wanted to watch it, while others argued cinemas should not reward poor-quality films simply because they attract viral traffic, ThePaper reported.

For now, Niu Lai has become less a conventional film success than a social media-driven viewing ritual, with young audiences treating screenings as offline gatherings built around online jokes.