Poorly made animated film «Niu Lai» (English: «Here Comes the Cow») has unexpectedly emerged as one of the main phenomena in Chinese cinema distribution. Following its failed debut, viewers began actively discussing the movie on social media, boosting its box office from several thousand yuan to millions within a few days. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a look at how a low-quality animation turned an unknown cartoon into a viral hit.
«Niu Lai» was released in Chinese cinemas on Aug. 5. During the first few days of screenings, the film did not seem likely to succeed, as over nine days, it generated only 7,169 yuan (around $1,000), with fewer than 300 people watching the animated film and its first-day box office slightly exceeding 3,400 yuan (around $500).
The animated film didn’t feature any prominent actors, nor did it have a major advertising campaign or generate noticeable hype ahead of its premiere. In addition, «Niu Lai» was created by just two people, and the animation quality could confidently be described as low.
However, the tables turned on Aug. 14, when a post claiming the animated film had earned just over 7,000 yuan went viral on Chinese social media. Users became curious about how bad the film could be and why it had been released in cinemas at all.
On social media, «Niu Lai» was labeled as an animated film with «disaster-level» animation, turning it into an internet meme. Users started adding the film’s little bull character to posters of famous films. Parody versions of the animated film’s poster also appeared.
As a result, the viral interest the film generated changed its fate. If «Niu Lai» earned only 7,169 yuan in its first nine days, the latest data shows that its total box office has now exceeded 2.5 million yuan (around $371,000).
The joke ultimately went so far that Christopher Nolan’s «The Odyssey» emerged as one of the main competitors to «Niu Lai» in the Chinese box office. Against this backdrop, users began jokingly comparing Nolan’s large-scale project to the virtually unknown animated film viewers were watching out of curiosity.
The creators of «Niu Lai» themselves admitted that their animated film does not meet the usual standards for theatrical animation. The film’s official Weibo account said the animated film did not meet industry-established standards for visuals, plot, and other criteria. At the same time, the creators thanked viewers for the positive reaction and said they were ready to accept criticism.
