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Panned Animation Film Niu Lai Earns More at China Box Office than Spider-Man: Brand New Day
A mother-and-son team made the film on a tiny budget, and its deliberately bad animation has helped drive more than 11.4 million yuan in ticket sales.
- On Monday, the low-budget Chinese animated film Niu Lai surged to 8.2 million yuan at the box office, with nearly 300,000 admissions marking a dramatic reversal after a sluggish initial release.
- Created by director Xin Yumeng and his mother, Sun Lifan, over five years, the film grossed just 7,705 yuan in its first 10 days after releasing on August 5, according to the South China Morning Post.
- Viral mockery on social platforms Weibo and Douyin transformed the film into a meme, prompting theaters to hand-draw posters after its crude animation and stilted dialogue attracted a cult following.
- Viewers dubbed the film 'human slop' to praise its imperfect originality, while some fans attend simply to prank friends, calling it 'a must-watch for Chinese stock market investors' in sarcastic online comments.
- State-Run outlet Beijing News criticized theaters for screening the film, comparing it to the 2017 flop Pure Heart: Chasing Dreams in the Entertainment Industry, which similarly inspired widespread online mockery and infamy.
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16 Articles
16 Articles
A Chinese Animated Film Mocked as 'terrible' Becomes a Box-office Hit
·Boca Raton, United States
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A Chinese animated film mocked as 'terrible' becomes a box office hit
It is the scathing online reviews that seem to have prompted interest in 'Niulai', an animated film about a calf who had a dream about himself growing up with the help of his family, driving a surprising surge at the box office.
·Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
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A Chinese animated film has unexpectedly become a box office success. The story and animations are being ridiculed so much that the film is drawing many people to the cinema...
·Antwerp, Belgium
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left5Leaning Right3Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 20%
R 30%
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