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Phoebe Zhang
Opinion
Phoebe Zhang

Why Chinese film-goers are flocking to a movie they hate

Niu Lai’s runaway success is not an endorsement of its quality. Audiences are paying for the perverse enjoyment of seeing how bad it gets

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A screenshot of Niu Lai, or The Arrival of the Ox, a little-known Chinese animated film that viewers have embraced despite it being described as “impossible to believe is a 2026 production”. Photo: Handout
Phoebe Zhang
Phoebe Zhang is a senior reporter with the South China Morning Post.
This past week, another unlikely film went viral in Chinese cinemas. On its August 5 debut, the animated film Niu Lai, or The Arrival of the Ox, only earned 3,420 yuan (US$507) at the box office. About 10 days later, it suddenly saw a spike in viewers and generated six figures of revenue.

On Saturday, its box office climbed to 717,000 yuan and reached more than 11 million yuan on Monday. Its accumulated earnings placed it in the top 10 of China’s domestic animated film box office charts for this year.

The trick to the film’s sudden popularity? It was so bad that people flocked to see it. The film has been criticised for its “rough” and “broken” style and confusing plot. The oxen characters look like piled up, colourful boxes and present a weird, almost humanlike smile. The Beijing News described the animation as “stiff and glitchy” and the voice acting as “jarring”.

At first, some people posted memes online about how bad the film was, The Beijing News reported. Then the film went viral and people’s curiosity spiked. The audience began demanding more showings, and within a day the film’s screenings across the country increased from 21 to 359.

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