Chinese animated film 'Niu Lai' becomes viral box office hit

'Niu Lai' ('Here Comes The Cow'), a low-budget Chinese animated film, has defied expectations by becoming a viral box office phenomenon after a disastrous opening. Released on August 5 with minimal promotion, the film earned only about 10,000 yuan (€1,281) in its first ten days, with some days bringing in just 200 yuan (€25) Source: Euronews. However, after clips of its crude animation went viral on social media, daily earnings multiplied by 200 in a single day, from roughly 3,000 to 600,000 yuan Source: Hoy. By August 17, the film had accumulated 9.31 million yuan ($1.3 million) at the box office, according to Maoyan Source: Hoy. Euronews reports a total of 17.1 million yuan (€2.1 million) by August 18, a discrepancy likely due to different reporting dates Source: Euronews. The film even ranked sixth in China's daily box office and competed with Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Source: Hoy.

The phenomenon

The film's success is driven by social media buzz. On Douyin, videos with the film's hashtag amassed 1.46 billion views, and it topped Weibo trends, surpassing 'The Odyssey' in popularity Source: Hoy. Audiences have embraced the rudimentary animation as a refreshing antidote to polished studio and AI-generated content, though some critics warn that its popularity comes at the expense of better productions Source: Euronews. Analysts compare its cult status to Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' Source: Hoy.

What's next

Cinemas have added screenings to meet demand, and the film now ranks among China's top ten animated films of 2026 Source: Euronews. Whether the irony-driven appeal will sustain remains to be seen.