In a surprising turn of events in Chinese cinema, the low-budget film “Niu Lai” became a sensation during the summer box office season, sparking discussions on animation quality and financial returns. During this buzz, netizens brought up the animated film “Xiao Bing Zhang Ga,” produced by Sun Lijun, the former dean of the Animation School of the Beijing Film Academy, between 1999 and 2005. The film cost 12 million RMB to produce but failed to generate any box office revenue, leading to the trending topic “Deputy Dean of Beijing Film Academy, 12 million investment, 0 box office” once again.
The animated film “Niu Lai,” released on August 5th, was independently made over five years by a mother-son duo with a minimal budget ranging from a few thousand to ten thousand RMB. Initially criticized for its rudimentary 3D modeling, stiff animations, and illogical voice acting, the film struggled at the box office at first but eventually gained popularity through memes and fan creations online. By August 19th, the box office earnings for “Niu Lai” exceeded 27 million RMB, according to Maoyan data.
According to a report by Sina Critic Society on August 19th, the animated film “Xiao Bing Zhang Ga,” directed by Sun Lijun during his tenure as the dean of the Animation School of Beijing Film Academy (later the deputy dean), had an investment of 12 million RMB and involved over 600 people in production for six years. Despite winning the Outstanding Animation Film Award at the 11th China Film Huabiao Awards, the film did not make it to mainstream cinemas and recorded zero commercial box office earnings.
The film, which commenced in 1999 with an initial self-funded budget of 200,000 RMB by Sun Lijun and some teachers, garnered additional investments leading to the total expenditure of 12 million RMB. The investors included Beijing Film Academy, Youth Film Production Factory, and Beijing TV, all state-owned entities. Due to the film’s absence from commercial theaters, it was only screened in educational settings and public events, resulting in zero box office earnings.
The lack of publicly disclosed details regarding the investors left the public reliant on interviews with the director and media reports to understand the investment breakdown. In an interview with Guangming Daily, the director mentioned spending over ten million RMB with the involvement of over 600 individuals in the production process, yet no official financial records have been made public.
A mainland Chinese screenwriter, Zhu Ming, commented on August 18th that for those who criticize the quality of “Niu Lai,” they should take a look at the animated film “Xiao Bing Zhang Ga” made by Sun Lijun, the deputy dean of Beijing Film Academy.
Zhu Ming stated that Sun Lijun took a significant amount of investment, totaling 12 million RMB (in 2005), with the initial slogan before production being the number one animated film at the Chinese box office with an aim for 200 million RMB. Many animation students from Beijing Film Academy participated in the film production as part of their coursework. Despite receiving numerous awards, including the Huabiao Award, the film’s box office revenue turned out to be zero.
Comparing the situation to “Niu Lai,” Zhu Ming pointed out that the creators invested only a few hundred thousand RMB, did not deceive others for money, openly released the film, did not manipulate award competitions, and did not make students work for free or at low cost.
Netizens have been quick to mock the situation, highlighting the absurdity of professionals spending millions for awards while a hobbyist duo created a successful film with low investment online. This strong sense of absurdity is seen by the public as a silent rebellion and retaliatory consumption against the content market in the AI era, particularly challenging the notions of “mediocrity versus refinement in industrial production” and “narrative grandeur in academia.”