Niu Lai: The Bad Cartoon Everyone Wanted to See

When the Chinese animated film Niu Lai opened, it seemed to be a box-office failure. The film had little publicity, and its animation was quickly criticised online. Viewers described the characters as rough, stiff and even a little frightening. Some also said the story was confusing.

The film earned only around 10,000 yuan during its first ten days. But the criticism created curiosity. Short clips, screenshots, jokes and memes spread across social media. People began going to the cinema for a simple reason: they wanted to see the strange-looking film for themselves.

This changed the film’s fortunes. Its daily ticket sales later rose to millions of yuan. The film became an example of how word of mouth can work in the internet age. A bad review does not always keep people away. Sometimes it makes them curious.

The production story added to the interest. Niu Lai was made mainly by two people, which is very different from the large teams behind most modern animated films.