China's first fully AI movie fails to generate an audience
Say what you will about the mother-and-son-crafted animated movie Niu Lai, but at least it brought a family together. It's more than you can say about Sanxingdui: Future Past, the first fully AI-generated movie to open in China.
China's inaugural fully AI-generated cinematic venture, "Sanxingdui: Future Past," has proven to be a flop at the box office. Since its opening on October 23, the film has generated a meager $181,000. Opening on 10,000 screens, it managed an average of $20 per screen. Despite the modest budget of $1.5 million, and the fact that it took over two years and more than 100 underpaid individuals to produce, the film has been a critical failure.
Bona Film Group, the producers, claim they were the first to attempt this bold move, secure the first theatrical release permit, and test the audience's reaction. CEO Jiang Defu remarked on the difficulty of their endeavor. The AI-generated film is set in an AI-dominated future, where algorithms govern the world, and a global crisis ensues.
Meanwhile, "Niu Lai," a far less sophisticated production by Xin Yumeng and his mother Sun Lifang for a mere $200, has surpassed the AI behemoth in box office earnings, amassing $10 million at the box office. This stark contrast highlights the reality that actual people enjoy watching odd, human-made creations, regardless of their apparent polish. Meanwhile, the AI-fueled sequel "Torment Nexus" is still in the works.
Written by urgent.news from The A.V. Club's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
