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$47 animated film 'Niu Lai' takes Chinese box office by storm
Published : Thursday, 20 August, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Observer Online Report
Collected Photo
It came in like a joke, but left an undeniable mark on the Chinese box office. Niu Lai, a shockingly low-budget animated film created by a mother-and-son duo, has exploded across the Chinese internet - turning its laughably awful animation into a historic cinematic triumph.
Despite having no promotion, no trailer, and visual quality so poor that distributors strongly advised against a theatrical release, the film has achieved a miracle.
After selling a mere 300 tickets in its first 10 days, the movie went on to surpass major blockbusters like The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day in box office revenue.
The 86-minute film, which explores the relationship between a cow and a skylark, was a five-year labor of love. Director Xin Yumeng and his mother, screenwriter Sun Lifang, also served as producers and voiced all the characters. According to the creators, they spent three to four months just refining the character designs.
Released in Chinese theaters on August 5, the film reportedly cost a mere $47 (roughly Tk 5,700) to produce. Initially, it earned 7,700 yuan (about Tk 138,000) over 10 days. The turnaround began when social media users and internet trolls started ruthlessly mocking the film's mind-meltingly bad animation, weak storyline, and off-putting special effects.
Instead of burying the film, this online ridicule sparked a massive wave of word-of-mouth curiosity. A "bile fascination" drove audiences to theaters to witness the cinematic disaster for themselves, catapulting the movie into the top ten highest-grossing animated films in the country.
According to the Chinese movie-tracking platform Mao Yan, Niu Lai has now amassed a staggering 14.9 million yuan (around Tk 260 million). Given its microscopic budget, the film's monumental return on investment makes it one of the most profitable movies ever made, drawing comparisons to The Blair Witch Project.
The unprecedented success has sparked widespread debate. The BBC reported that social media users seem to prefer this genuine, albeit low-quality, human-made effort over AI-generated art.
Conversely, The Beijing News fiercely criticized the film for lowering industry standards, even calling on theaters to halt its screenings.
Despite the backlash, Niu Lai has proven that sometimes, being spectacularly bad is exactly what it takes to capture the public's imagination and conquer the box office.
-SA/NS
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
