The box office for the Chinese animated film "Niu Lai" is truly taking off.
This Chinese animated film, which had earned only over 7,000 yuan in its first 10 days and was widely mocked online as "extremely terrible," has now officially surpassed 2 million yuan in total box office revenue. Maoyan predicts its final box office could reach 18.37 million! Given the current hype, breaking the 100 million yuan mark is not impossible.
Previously, the animated film "Niu Lai" was widely mocked for its rough production quality. Now, however, it has unexpectedly sparked nationwide curiosity and attention:
On August 14, the topic "Niu Lai box office 7,352 yuan, not even 10,000" trended on social media, drawing netizens to theaters out of curiosity to see "just how bad it is." On August 15, daily box office revenue surged to hundreds of thousands of yuan. By 10:43 PM on August 15, the total box office (including pre-sales) exceeded 2 million yuan, with some statistics showing cumulative earnings reaching 2.436 million yuan by August 16.
Behind the Scenes: A grassroots production "hand-crafted" by two people over five years
Director Xin Yumeng and her mother, Sun Lifang, who is in her sixties, spent approximately five years independently completing the entire film. The director took on multiple roles, while her mother handled screenwriting, voice acting, and singing the ending theme song.
Rumors suggest that the production cost of "Niu Lai" was only a few thousand yuan, while some industry insiders estimate it to be in the tens of thousands. The production company was formerly a decoration firm, only rebranding and transitioning into the film industry in 2021, with a registered capital of just 100,000 yuan.
The film has transcended its status as a mere movie to become a social phenomenon, with rampant fan-created content. Even unauthorized recordings haven't stopped netizens from experiencing it in theaters, and cinemas are happy to allocate screenings since they're making money.
After watching "Niu Lai," one audience member commented: "I'm a stock investor, and we have a natural affinity for 'bull markets' (Niu Lai). So I wanted to support this movie."
