Movie that went viral for terrible animation becomes China box office hit

What the report says

Nile Post reports that the Chinese low-budget animated film Niu Lai has turned into an unexpected box office success after drawing online attention for its confusing storyline and visibly poor animation. The movie, which centers on a cow in a dream sequence, initially earned only 7,705 yuan in its first 10 days before climbing to more than 11.4 million yuan, according to the ticket-tracking site Mao Yan.

The surge appears to have been driven largely by ironic interest on social media, where users shared clips, jokes and commentary about the film’s rough visuals and unusual plot. Some online posts framed the movie as a kind of anti-AI example because of its handmade look, while others treated it as a novelty worth seeing in theaters. The growing demand has reportedly led cinemas to add extra screenings.

The article says the film received little publicity before release earlier this month and does not even have a standard promotional poster, prompting some cinema staff to make their own posters to attract audiences. That unusual momentum has made Niu Lai a notable summer-season dark horse in China, even as some commentators question whether theaters should keep promoting films that are widely seen as below standard.

A state-owned Beijing News commentary warned that continuing to expand screenings could undermine audience trust and urged cinemas to reject obviously weak releases. The broader significance is that a movie mocked for its quality has nonetheless become commercially successful, highlighting how online buzz can reshape box office performance.