Movie mocked for terrible animation becomes unexpected China box office hit

A low-budget Chinese animated film that went viral for its poor animation and confusing storyline has become an unexpected box office success.

Niu Lai, an unusual animated film centred around a cow in a dream sequence, earned just 7,705 yuan (£843) during its first 10 days in cinemas.

However, its fortunes changed dramatically after clips and comments about the film began spreading across Chinese social media.

The movie has now taken more than 11.4 million yuan, according to Chinese box office tracking site Mao Yan, putting the little-known production up against major Hollywood releases including The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Much of the attention has focused on the film's unusual animation style and complicated plot.

Rather than discouraging audiences, its reputation for being "so bad it's good" has encouraged more people to buy tickets and see what the film is actually like.

One widely shared social media comment joked that audiences might regret watching the 80-minute film — but would regret it even more if they missed the chance to see it.

Other viewers have praised the film for appearing to be "hand-crafted", with some suggesting its unusual visual style is evidence that artificial intelligence was not used to create the animation.

Social media users have described the movie as an antidote to the huge amount of AI-generated content appearing across online platforms.

One Weibo user praised the production as serious craftsmanship, while another described it as a completely handmade film and one of the biggest surprise hits of the summer movie season.

The film has also attracted attention because of its title.

Some Chinese social media users have connected the cow-themed movie with hopes for a "bullish" stock market, pointing to the connection between the words for bull and cow in Chinese.

One commenter joked that they would go to the cinema to support the film if the stock market index reached 4,000.

Despite receiving almost no publicity before its release, the sudden popularity of Niu Lai has forced cinemas to respond to demand by adding additional screenings.

The film reportedly does not even have a conventional promotional poster, leaving some cinema staff to create their own artwork to attract customers.

The unusual success has also attracted criticism.

A commentary published by the state-owned Beijing News warned that cinemas could risk losing audiences' trust if they continue increasing screenings for films that fail to meet expected standards.

The commentary argued that cinemas have a responsibility to act as a "gatekeeper" for audiences and questioned whether poorly made productions should receive such prominent screening opportunities.

Despite the criticism, Niu Lai has already achieved something few expected: a virtually unknown, low-budget animated film has turned online ridicule into millions of yuan in ticket sales.