&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "This ‘terrible’ Chinese animated film is giving The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day a tough fight at the box office")
A Chinese animated filmis giving a tough fight to Hollywood blockbusters The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day at the Chinese box office. The film has been widely described as terrible, and that’s precisely the reason why audiences are rushing to cinemas to watch it. Titled Niu Lai, translated as The Cow is Coming, the film is an 86-minute animation about a newborn calf and a skylark, whose relationship is highlighted through an abstract dream sequence.
Niu Lai was released in China on August 5 and almost disappeared immediately.
‘Worst film of 2026’
Released in China on August 5, the film initially appeared destined to disappear without a trace. It earned around 7,700 yuan (USD1,142.32)during its first 10 days of release and had ticket sales of about 3000 across China. The film did not have any trailer, no promotional tour, not even pre-release publicity.
10 days after the film’s release, it witnessed a spike in ticket sales, all thanks to social media. Clips of the film were widely circulated on various social media sites, with viewers mocking its crude computer graphics, stiff characters, awkward voice acting and confusing story.
There were some who compared the film to a poorly made student project. Others called it "worse than AI" and possibly the "worst movie of 2026".
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Why is Niu Lai so popular?
The ridicule worked in favour of the film and got people curious. Many moviegoers began buying tickets simply to discover whether Niu Lai was really as bad as it was being claimed.
Niu Lai has now collected 14.9 million yuan (22,10,468USD approx.) according to Chinese ticket platform Maoyan. Its sudden rise at the box office has placed it alongside bigger films in China cinema revenue rankings.
The film has been reportedly made by two people. Niu Lai is credited to Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang, believed to be a mother-and-son team. They are credited as its writers, directors, producers and voice actors.
The only known advertisement of the film has an elegant poster with traditional ink-wash artwork. The beautiful poster bears very little resemblance to the amateur animations that await audiences inside theatres. Even its distributor reportedly admitted that he had been advised against releasing the film because of its quality. He went ahead because he was a friend of the director.
The roughness is not being viewed as a failure by many who have described the handcrafted visuals as refreshing, particularly at a time of AI, which produces slick imagery within seconds.
The greater audience, though have less generous assessments about the film, calling it bad in every aspect, including its imagery and storytelling. But that is exactly working in favour of the film. Despite knowing how bad the film is, audiences are flocking to theatres to witness for themselves how disastrous the film is.
