So-Bad-It's-Good Animated Movie Becomes a Box Office Hit

Moviegoers in China are lining up to see what many are calling a spectacularly bad film. Niu Lai, a bargain-basement animated movie about a cow in a dream, has flipped from flop to phenomenon after clips of its clunky visuals and baffling storyline spread online. After earning just $1,140 in its first 10 days, it has now reportedly pulled in more than $1.7 million and is sharing screens with Hollywood heavyweights, reports the BBC. The title, for those wondering, translates to The Arrival of the Ox.

There are only two people behind Niu Lai, notes the South China Morning News: director Xin Yumeng and scriptwriter Sun Lifang, who also pulled duty as animator and provided all the voices. Social media users are embracing the movie's obviously non-AI, "handmade" look, with one noting that "You may regret for 80 minutes if you watch it, but if you don't, you'll regret it for life." Some are even cheering it on as a lucky charm for the stock market. But Beijing News, a state-owned outlet, has blasted cinemas for adding showings, warning that the movie has only "lowered the bar for audiences' expectations of poorly made films."