Niu Lai, an 86-minute animation about a calf and a skylark, has become an unexpected sleeper hit at the Chinese box office.
Created over five years by mother-and-son duo Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang, the film initially flopped, earning just 7,700 yuan in its first ten days.
Online mockery of the film's crude visual quality triggered a viral meme, driving curious audiences to cinemas and pushing revenues past 14.9 million yuan.
A Chinese cartoon has shocked the box office. The 86-minute low-budget film Niu Lai—translated as The Cow is Coming, with terrible animation film is a Chinese box office hit. It depicts a dream sequence tracking the bond between a young calf and a skylark. Without any trailers, marketing campaigns or promotional events, the film hit the theatres on August 5.
It initially flopped at the box office. The film reportedly made a mere 7,700 yuan (£842) in its first 10 days, selling fewer than 300 tickets nationwide. It is now giving tough competition to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Tom Holland-starrer Spider-Man: Brand New Day in ticket sales.
How Chinese animated movie Niu Lai became a blockbuster
Online mockery helped the film become a hit. Internet users transformed the poor production values into a viral meme, which drove crowds of curious moviegoers into local theatres. Total ticket sales have now surpassed 14.9mn yuan, making the cartoon one of the highest-grossing releases this year, movie tracking site Mao Yan reported.
Low-tech animation beats odds
Its appeal relies on a strange charm. The project succeeded because of its "so bad it's good" energy rather than its artistic quality. A mother and a son: Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang, spent five years creating the animation on an extremely limited budget. The duo served as the writers, directors, voice actors and producers.
Its crude aesthetic acts as the direct antithesis to slick Chinese animations like Ne Zha 2. Industry experts advised the film's distributor against releasing the project due to its low quality. He proceeded with the theatrical release solely because of his friendship with the director, Chinese media reported.
Big-budget blockbusters usually dominate the charts. During its three-day debut, The Odyssey secured second place by generating 192mn yuan (£21mn). It fell behind the domestic hit Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, which grossed 477.9mn yuan from Friday to Sunday. Niu Lai follows a Chinese cook who launches a restaurant during a Middle Eastern conflict.
It has now overshadowed higher-quality productions.
The phenomenon has frustrated traditional filmmakers. The anonymous film industry professional said the success "feels like an embarrassment to the Chinese film industry".
