{"text":[[{"start":8.64,"text":"A low-budget animated film about a young cow has become a surprise summer sensation in China after its crude production value inspired outpourings of ridicule and enthusiasm from internet users and cinemagoers."}],[{"start":22.62,"text":"Niu Lai earned less than $1,000 in its opening week but has since surged on a wave of grassroots support with Rmb29mn ($4.3mn) of ticket sales, according to ticket platform Maoyan, appearing in recent daily top 10 box office rankings behind Hollywood blockbusters such as The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day."}],[{"start":44.46,"text":"The film, which was made by a mother-and-son duo in the northern city of Dalian and released in early August, relies on unusually basic animation and sound effects that contrast starkly with big-budget CGI productions."}],[{"start":57.28,"text":"It has proven an unlikely hit, comparable to the cult status of the critically panned American film The Room (2003), as many viewers in China relished the film’s technological limitations in the age of AI."}],[{"start":70.68,"text":"“Frankly, if the production quality were slightly better, it might not have been as hilarious,” said Zhang Tongjia, 24, who works in the toy industry, after watching the film in Shanghai this week."}],[{"start":81.96,"text":"“It’s good because it’s not good.”"}],[{"start":84.2,"text":"China’s domestic film industry is an area of focus for Beijing, which limits imports of foreign productions. Domestic box office receipts last year totalled Rmb52bn ($7.7bn), higher than 2024 but below levels of Rmb64bn in 2019 before the pandemic, according to Maoyan."}],[{"start":104.52,"text":"Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, a Chinese war comedy released on August 11, is currently top of box office rankings and has brought in more than Rmb1bn."}],[{"start":114.38,"text":"More than 1,000 cinemas also opened last year, according to state news agency Xinhua, which cited the official newspaper of the China Film Administration. Xinhua hailed a “summer market surge” in viewings as well as a high proportion of homegrown films."}],[{"start":129.32,"text":"Niu Lai, by contrast, has proven a hit on social media, where it has aligned with the hyper-ironic tone of Chinese internet users."}],[{"start":136.48,"text":"“I think there’s some backlash against mainstream cinema,” said Kenny Ng, associate professor of film at Hong Kong Baptist University. The phenomenon of Niu Lai lets his students “reflect on the status quo of cinema today”."}],[{"start":150.88,"text":"At a cinema in Shanghai on Tuesday, there were multiple bouts of chuckling during the 86-minute film, which concerns a bovine hero and his encounters with other animals including a snake and a leopard, and features rudimentary animated landscapes and jangling piano music."}],[{"start":167.94,"text":"Viral references to the film also abound on Chinese internet platforms, including an AI-generated remake of a pivotal scene in which the main character jumps over a river."}],[{"start":178.4,"text":"“Don’t people think Niu Lai is a kind of pure return to original simplicity[?]” said one post on the Instagram-like social media platform Xiaohongshu. One post on microblogging platform Weibo advertised a screening in Los Angeles this week."}],[{"start":193.2,"text":"Vinci Xu, who works in the AI software industry, has only seen clips of the film online but appreciated it."}],[{"start":200.44,"text":"“Fundamentally, the other films in cinemas aren’t really that much better either,” he said. He had the impression the film “doesn’t try to impose strange values on the audience”."}],[{"start":209.94,"text":"An attendant behind the popcorn counter at a cinema in Shanghai, where screenings cost about Rmb35 ($5.2), said many customers “came to see what the movie was like”."}],[{"start":221.44,"text":"“For us Chinese people, we should support it,” he added. “Even if it’s really bad, so what? How bad can it be?”"}],[{"start":229.04,"text":"Zhang, the Shanghai viewer, who described himself as a “very hardcore animation enthusiast”, said that while the film could be seen as “disrespectful to the audience”, he encouraged “people making this kind of attempt to make animation”."}],[{"start":242.32,"text":"“I feel like I’ll still talk about it years from now,” he said as he left the cinema."}],[{"start":251.84,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787205255_5709.mp3"}