StoryThe RideExchangeReviewsQuizPollsSlangFAQ
中文English
2026 暑期档 · CHINA'S SUMMER 2026 · THE IRONIC RALLY

NIU LAI

2 CREATORS · 5 YEARS · 0 MARKETING · 1000× RALLY

A newborn calf hums a lullaby that sends a desert-traveling lark to sleep. Inside the dream, the calf grows from small and fragile into someone brave and responsible — until the moment he must face life and death itself. Released Aug 5, 2026 with zero marketing, it grossed ¥342 on day one. Nine days later the internet's ironic mass-watching pushed it past ¥1.5M — a 1000× rally, the most surreal Chinese box-office story of the decade.

📈 ¥342 → ¥1,500,000 · 1000× · screenings 5 → 359
THE STORY TAKE THE QUIZ ▶
SCROLL ▼
HARD NUMBERS

The Numbers Are More Surreal Than the Plot

Figures come from public reporting and box-office platforms; sources linked in the footer.

¥342
Day-1 box office
¥1,500,000+
Cumulative gross (incl. presales)
1000×
Gain vs bottom
5 → 359
Daily screenings (reverse-expanded)
2
Core crew (a mother–son team)
5年
Years of hand-crafting
86 min
Runtime
¥0
Marketing budget
THE STORY

The Most Expensive Zero-Budget Campaign Ever

Director Xin Yumeng + his 1960s-born mother. Five years. Two people.

Niu Lai slipped into cinemas on Aug 5 with zero marketing — day-one gross ¥342. Nine days in, the cumulative was ¥7,169 with 236 viewers. No trailer blitz; just one ink-wash poster. The production company used to be a renovation firm: ¥100k registered capital, one insured employee.

Then the internet started mocking it — 'PowerPoint animation', 'a school project', 'disaster-grade visuals'. And the mood flipped from 'I won't watch trash' to 'it's SO bad I must taste the salt myself'. On the night of Aug 14, nationwide screenings jumped from under 5 to 168; Aug 15 hit 359 as cinemas in Beijing, Guangzhou and Nanjing voluntarily ADDED shows — some sold out. A single day broke ¥180k; the total passed ¥1.5M, roughly 1,000× the bottom. It reached No.3 on Douban's real-time heat chart, and a cinema worker admitted: 'it's outselling Nolan's Odyssey.'

“Being hated is fine. Being ignored is the real tragedy.”
— The Summer-2026 Scripture
THE RIDE · THE TIMELINE

The chart even Hollywood would reject

From a 2021 script filing to a 1000× rally — a chart even Hollywood would reject.

1
2021

Script filed

Niu Lai's script was officially filed for record. Nobody knew this film would, five years later, redefine both the floor and the ceiling of a summer box-office season.

2
2024

Dragon Label granted

The film received its public-screening permit (No. 2024-33). Technical review covers projection safety and stability only — 'the review does not judge whether the film is well made.' The production company was formerly an interior-renovation firm.

3
AUG 5

Released with zero marketing · Day-1 gross ¥342

Fewer than 5 screenings nationwide. No trailer blitz, no marketing — just one ink-wash poster. Quiet enough to hear the 3D models clipping. The historical bottom was in.

4
AUG 5–13

9-day cumulative ¥7,169 · 236 viewers

Cumulative gross after 9 days: ¥7,169, with 236 total viewers. On day 10, press reported ¥7,705. The internet's mockery began: 'PowerPoint-level', 'a school kid made this', 'disaster-grade visuals'. Mockery became fuel.

5
AUG 14

Overnight legend · screenings 5 → 168

The internet collectively decided a film this bad 'must be tasted'. Curiosity buying ignited: nationwide screenings jumped overnight from under 5 to 168.

6
AUG 15

359 screenings · ¥180k day · ¥1.5M total

Cinemas in Beijing, Guangzhou and Nanjing voluntarily ADDED late-night shows; some sold out. Douban's real-time heat chart: No.3. A cinema worker admitted it was outselling Nolan's 'Odyssey'. Total passed ¥1.5M — roughly 1,000× the bottom.

7
NOW

The bull keeps running

The conversation flipped from mockery to respect and curiosity; overseas onlookers began watching the 'oriental so-bad-it's-good miracle'. This site keeps documenting the ride.

HALL OF SHAME · REVIEWS

Every hate comment is a roadshow

Every hate comment is a roadshow. One star is still a star.

★★★★★

“This is PowerPoint-level animation. And I mean the free trial.”

— A concerned viewer
★★★★★

“Disaster-grade visuals. The 3D models clip through each other like they're fighting.”

— A film critic
★★★★★

“The plot is street-stall chicken soup. And I drank the whole bowl.”

— A Douban user
★★★★★

“One star. But I laughed for 86 straight minutes. That counts for something, right?”

— One star — and a ticket stub
★★★★★

“How did THIS get a release permit? Asking for a friend. Also asking for another ticket.”

— The internet's soul-searching
★★★★★

“The film is rough, but the box-office chart is smooth. See you at the second screening.”

— Reverse five stars
★★★★★

“Being hated is fine. Being ignored is the real tragedy.”

— The Summer-2026 Scripture
THE CREW · CAST & CREW

Two people. Five years. One movie.

No studio, no marketing budget — only a mother-and-son obsession.

导

信雨萌

Director / writer / voice / producer (almost everything)

The absolute core of Niu Lai. Besides directing, he handled writing, voice acting and more, hand-crafting the film over five years with his mother.

Full profile →
母

孙丽芳

Co-writer / voice / the mother

A 1960s-born mom, co-writer and voice performer. The production company has 100k RMB registered capital and one insured employee - but the mother-son obsession is priceless.

Full profile →
INTERACTIVE · QUIZ

The Niu Lai Aptitude Test

8 questions. Are you a passerby or the chief $NIULAI analyst?

POLLS · POLLS

The People's Polls

Local polls — results persist in your browser.

Is Niu Lai worth a ¥35 ticket?

Where will Niu Lai's total gross end up?

How did you board the Niu Lai bull run?

🐂 THE EXCHANGE · THE EXCHANGE

The Niu Lai Exchange

Read the box office as a stock chart: ¥342 is the bottom, Aug-14 is the ignition volume, Aug-15 the main leg, ¥1.5M the ATH. All figures are real box office.

NIU LAI · $NIULAI · CNY
$NIULAI¥1,500,000++1000×
VOL SCREENINGS5 → 359 场+7080%
IPO PRICE¥342 (2026-08-05)~10 tickets
UNDERWRITERSMom & son · 5 yrs · ¥0 adsHODL
* Milestone gross figures are real; connecting curve is illustrative.
¥3428/5¥7,1698/13+¥4.5万*8/14+¥22.5万*8/15¥1.5MATH
📈 Log-scale Niu Lai chart (the chart · bull-market meme）
8/5BOTTOM
¥342
📉

historical bottom, <5 screenings, silence

8/14IGNITION
5→168场
🔥

the internet decided to 'taste the salt' - volume exploded overnight

8/15BREAKOUT
359场·¥18万/日
🚀

reverse expansion: cinemas ADDED shows, some sold out

NOWATH
¥1.5M+
🏔️

the bull keeps running - every ticket pushes the high

Get certified before the bell -> a.k.a. Niu Lai / Here Comes the Ox / Here Comes the Cow / The Bull Arrives
SLANG DICT · DICTIONARY

The Niu Lai Slang Dictionary

From '¥342' to 'reverse expansion' — every term you need to follow the rally.

Niu Lai

牛来了 · Niu Lai movie · The Bull Is Coming

A Chinese animated film released August 2026, literally 'The Bull Is Coming'. Hand-crafted over five years by a mother–s… Full definition →

The ¥342 opening

niu lai 342 · 牛来 342

Niu Lai's total nationwide day-one gross on Aug 5, 2026 — ¥342, roughly ten tickets. It became instant meme material and… Full definition →

Ironic rally

审丑 · 逆跌 · so bad its good chinese movie

A film so bad it becomes a must-see event: mockery converts into ticket sales and the box office rallies instead of coll… Full definition →

Dragon Label

公映许可证 · dragon label permit · 电审动字2024第33号

The colloquial name for China's public-screening permit (from the dragon logo on the certificate card). Niu Lai holds pe… Full definition →

Taste the salt

咸淡 · taste the salt niulai

Viral Chinese idiom from this event: 'it's so bad I simply must taste the salt myself' — the impulse to personally verif… Full definition →

Mother–son handcraft

手搓动画 · two person animated film · mother son animation

Director Xin Yumeng and his 1960s-born mother spent five years hand-crafting the 86-minute feature alone. Their company … Full definition →

The Niu Lai chart

K线 · box office chart · niu lai ath

Meme culture treating the film's box office as a trading chart: ¥342 day one = the bottom; Aug 14 screening surge = igni… Full definition →

Reverse expansion

加场 · cinemas added screenings · sold out niulai

Films normally earn extra screenings via good reviews; Niu Lai got them via pure curiosity demand. Cinemas in Beijing, G… Full definition →

Renovation-firm origin

出品公司 · production company niulai · 装修公司

The production company, Dalian Jingyuan Culture, was previously an interior-renovation business, rebranding in 2021. Reg… Full definition →

English titles & overseas names

Niu Lai · Here Comes the Ox · Here Comes the Cow

The official and encyclopedic English title of 《牛来》 is Niu Lai. Overseas media and English-language wikis explain the ti… Full definition →

The bull-market meme

牛市来了 · The Bull Arrives · bull market meme

Stock traders read the title 牛来 as 'the bull market arrives', so the whole box-office comeback got narrated as a bull ru… Full definition →

ATH (all-time high)

ATH · 历史新高 · niu lai ath

Trading shorthand for All-Time High - in the Niu Lai chart, the current peak of the total gross: ¥1.5M+, roughly 1,000x … Full definition →

FAQ · QUESTIONS

Questions & answers (sort of)

Is all of this real?
Yes. ¥342 day one, ¥7,169 over 9 days, 168 screenings overnight, 359 the next day, ¥180k single-day, ¥1.5M total, a ~1000× rally — all documented in press reports. Reality out-wrote the script.
How bad is the animation, really?
Bad. Universally agreed. But as the internet said: 'it's SO bad I simply must taste the salt.' The film was never selling visuals — it was selling the joy the visuals produce.
Was it really made by only two people?
Director Xin Yumeng (also writer, voice actor, producer… almost everything) and his mother, co-writer Sun Lifang, spent five years hand-crafting the whole feature. Their company: ¥100k capital, one insured employee, formerly a renovation firm.
Where can I watch Niu Lai?
In mainland Chinese cinemas (check Maoyan/Taopiaopiao for showtimes). This site hosts no pirated copies — support the bull's legitimate box office.
Will there be a sequel?
The production company used to do renovations — maybe the next one will be 'Niu Lai 2: Deluxe Edition'. Before that, let this bull finish its run. 🐂
↑ TOP