This summer’s most magical spectacle in the Chinese film industry is undoubtedly the domestic animated film “The Arrival of the Cattle”. The film was released on August 5th with an initial nationwide box office revenue of only 7,711 yuan (RMB), but due to being “extremely bad and rough to an unbelievable extent”, it gained unexpected popularity online. The ultimate evaluation from netizens, “Regret 86 minutes after watching, regret a lifetime if you don’t”, sparked a craze for watching the movie. As of August 18th, this film with a production cost of only 160,000 yuan has already surpassed 18 million yuan in total box office revenue.
The animated film “The Arrival of the Cattle” was released on August 5th, with only 7,169 yuan in total box office revenue for the first 9 days and 7,711 yuan for the first 10 days nationwide, with less than 300 viewers and almost zero screening sessions. However, after its clips were parodied and widely circulated, it triggered a frenzy of “appreciating ugliness and curiosity checkpoints” across the internet, with the number of screenings skyrocketing from single digits to thousands.
According to the box office tracking platform Maoyan, as of August 17th noon, the film’s box office revenue has exceeded 13.24 million yuan; by August 18th, the cumulative box office has surpassed 18 million yuan. A Weibo account dedicated to tracking movie box office described it as, “This record has never been seen before, and likely won’t be seen again.”
“Regret 80 minutes after watching, don’t regret a lifetime if you don’t!” a post widely shared on social media about the movie.
Some netizens have praised “The Arrival of the Cattle” as a remedy against the “AI junk content” flooding social media algorithms. They have been sharing clips of the film, highlighting its “purely handmade” production, which, while mocking its rough animation quality, is also seen as a “proof” of the creators not using AI.
Some viewers also support the film because they hope for the turbulent stock market to enter a “bull market”, and the title “The Arrival of the Cattle” happens to carry the auspicious meaning of “the bull market has come”. A Weibo user wrote, “If the index goes above 4000 points tomorrow, I will go to the cinema to support this movie.”
Another comment linking the movie to stock market investment said, “The movie is bad, but the name is good.”
Before a regular movie is released, there is usually an intensive marketing campaign, but “The Arrival of the Cattle” was almost entirely “invisible” in the market.
Firstly, there were no official video trailers, clips, teasers, or posters available anywhere on the internet before or during its release.
Secondly, the only material released by the production was a beautifully designed traditional Chinese style ink poster, leading to a significant psychological disconnect for audiences when faced with the “rough 3D modeling” in the film.
Additionally, the film did not organize any promotional events, previews, or screenings for the media and film critics. Director Xinyumeng and the production team did not give any public interviews early on, nor did they engage in any active promotion or marketing of the movie.
Due to the lack of promotional materials like banners, posters, or digital artwork from the film production, after the hype began, various cinemas resorted to creating “hand-drawn posters”. Ticket sellers, ushers, and cleaners drew chalk or paper posters to attract customers, with disclaimers such as “Low-budget film may not meet visual expectations, please choose wisely” written on them.
“The Arrival of the Cattle” is produced by Dalian Jingyuan Culture, Film, and Television Media Co., Ltd., with a runtime of 86 minutes. The official description of the film is “Chinese style cute healing animation”, telling the story of a young bull named “The Arrival of the Cattle” who meets a sparrow on the grassland and brings it into its dream. In the dream, the sparrow witnesses the young bull facing dangers bravely and ultimately growing into a warrior. However, audiences were shocked by the extremely unconventional visuals upon entering the cinema:
1. 3D modeling and actions defy physics: The character designs and textures are very basic, the animation of the bulls walking upright is stiff, giving a visual experience reminiscent of early computer games.
2. Mother and son handling voice acting and music: The entire film suffers from unsynchronized sound effects and dialogues, with the end credits and all the voice-overs done by director Xinyumeng and screenwriter Sun Lifang, creating a disconnect between the vocal emotions and the visuals.
3. Unique logic in dialogues: The characters’ lines are filled with philosophical terms, such as “Time will prove the arrival of the cattle”; when the leopard drinks milk, it says “It’s missing a bit of mother’s taste,” and the bull responds, “This is dad’s exclusive,” the nonsensical dialogues cause viewers’ brains to crash. The overall animation style of “The Arrival of the Cattle” is rudimentary, mockingly referred to by netizens as a “postmodern oil painting style” work.
According to Chinese media reports, Sun Lifang and Xinyumeng, the screenwriter, director, producer, and voice actors of “The Arrival of the Cattle”, completed the entire film by themselves from start to finish. Without any external investment, especially in the era of widespread AI technology in 2026, the film was completely “handcrafted” by them over a period of 5 years.
1. Mother and son duo: The non-professionally trained son Xinyumeng (serving as director, producer, 3D modeler, and post-production) and mother Sun Lifang (serving as screenwriter, voice actor, and singer of the end credits) handled all aspects of the film.
2. Cross-border handcrafting: The producer, “Dalian Jingyuan Culture, Film, and Television Media Co., Ltd.”, was formerly a renovation company with a registered capital of only 100,000 yuan, which was renamed and entered into the film and television industry in July 2021. The company’s registered capital remains at 100,000 yuan, with the annual report indicating only 1 person insured. Xinyumeng serves as the legal representative, while Sun Lifang is the financial officer.
Despite being advised by the distributor not to release the film, the director insisted on completing the entire production process and went on to release the film independently. This unexpected turn of events has created a strong psychological contrast among viewers, transforming the initial curiosity viewing frenzy into an emotional resonance on a deeper level.
Censorship and removal: Netizens have questioned how the film received public screening permission, with industry insiders pointing out that the censorship only checks for legality of content, without evaluating its fluency and standard. Some cinemas removed the film due to concerns about their image, but in most cities, it continues to screen normally, with a strong box office performance. As of August 18th, it has accumulated box office revenue exceeding 18 million yuan. This whirlwind of buzz ignited by the low-budget animation “The Arrival of the Cattle” has undoubtedly become the most talked-about phenomenon in mainland China’s summer movie season of 2026.
After gaining popularity for being so bad, the theaters in Dalian voluntarily removed the film “The Arrival of the Cattle” due to concerns about the city’s image. Director Xinyumeng released a statement on August 16th, stating that the theatrical phase of “The Arrival of the Cattle” has officially concluded, and this was a “complete creative practice”, embracing both the love and criticisms from the public, “We understand that there are still many areas to improve in our work and we respect the opinions of every viewer.”
Regardless of the controversy surrounding its content, from the nationwide online frenzy to the unprecedented box office success, “The Arrival of the Cattle”, this ultra-low-budget film, has become a highly discussed event in this summer’s film industry landscape.