Niu Lai (牛来 / The Cow is Coming / The Arrival of the Ox) is a low-budget Chinese 3D animated film that became an unexpected box-office sensation in August 2026 after going viral for its crude animation and abstract plot.
Key Box Office Figures (China)
- Release date: August 5, 2026
- First 9–10 days: Only about 7,000–7,700 yuan (roughly $1,000–1,100 USD), with fewer than 300 tickets sold nationwide — one of the lowest-grossing theatrical releases of the year.
- As of August 19, 2026 (noon): Cumulative box office reached 24.41 million yuan (approximately $3.4–3.5 million USD), according to China’s National Film Special Fund Office data reported by Caixin.
- Earlier mid-to-late August reports (Aug 17–18) put it in the 11–18 million yuan range as it was still climbing rapidly.
- Projections at the time varied widely (Maoyan and other trackers had estimates ranging from ~18–19 million up to much higher optimistic figures in some reports).
The film was made over about five years by a two-person mother-and-son team (director Xin Yumeng and screenwriter/voice actress Sun Lifang) with an extremely low budget. It had almost no marketing or promotional materials.