How a ‘rough’ and ‘crude’ Chinese cartoon ox went from box office zero to hero

How a ‘rough’ and ‘crude’ Chinese cartoon ox went from box office zero to hero Widely panned on its release, Niu Lai has become the summer’s most surprising smash hit despite competition from The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. A raw, handcrafted Chinese animation has become an unlikely box-office sensation despite being widely panned by critics and social media users. Niu Lai, or The Arrival Of The Ox, has been criticised for its “rough” and “broken” style and a plot that many viewers found hard to follow. But the film has generated some of the loudest online discussion in recent days, despite the competition from two Hollywood blockbusters: Christopher Nolan’s epic version of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The popularity of the two American films has already seen the release of some high-profile Chinese films – including Three Kingdoms: The Beginning, a historical drama set in the third century – being delayed or cancelled. Niu Lai’s plot, which revolves around a dream sequence involving a calf and a skylark that helps teach him about love, courage, perseverance and sacrifice, has been widely criticised as confusing. Its “unpolished” animation further riled viewers, with Beijing News describing it as “stiff and glitchy” and the voice acting as “jarring”. Jiefang Daily said it was a “noticeably crude production” and complained that the content was “overly childish”. Given these criticisms, it was perhaps no surprise that it initially appeared destined for oblivion. In its first 10 days, it brought in just over 7,700 yuan (US$1,070), making it the lowest-grossing animated film of the year. But cinema-goers suddenly started flocking to see it over the weekend, apparently as a result of internet curiosity and meme culture. On Sunday alone, it made around 5.6 million yuan at the box office, according to Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan, which predicted that the film could make 18.4 million yuan within 30 days of release. Much of the buzz surrounding the film may be down to its analogue nature – a stark contrast to the slick AI-generated images that are becoming increasingly common. China has been rapidly closing the gap with the United States in artificial intelligence, with open-source models from Chinese start-ups such as Moonshot and DeepSeek sending shock waves through Silicon Valley. The technology has also transformed China’s entertainment industry, enabling studios to churn out series at little cost. But Niu Lai is the work of just two people – Xin Yumeng, the director, and Sun Lifang, the scriptwriter – who provided all the voices and animation for the film. According to Chinese corporate-data provider Qichacha, the production company behind the film was formerly an interior decorations business that only entered the film industry in 2021. The buzz surrounding the film has even drawn interest from some investors who compared it to a bull market – the term used for a buying frenzy that drives up share prices. Or perhaps it is just the herd mentality at work. This article was first published on SCMP.