{
  "id": 16753153,
  "title": "China’s First Fully AI Theatrical Film Flayed Alive at the Box Office",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/chinas-first-fully-ai-theatrical-film-flayed-alive-at-the-box-office",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-27T12:57:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Futurism",
    "slug": "futurism",
    "url": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/china-fully-ai-movie-box-office"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China's inaugural fully AI-generated theatrical film, titled \"Sanxingdui: Future Past,\" has encountered severe box office failure, grossing only $181,000 since its release on October 23, according to Cartoon Brew. The film, backed by over 10,000 screens for its opening day, incurred a production budget of $1.5 million, making it highly improbable for the production company, Bona Film Group, to recoup its expenses. The company claims the film involved nearly 100 people working on it for over two years, but their claims are undermined by the fact that the \"actors\" – both voice and visuals – are AI-generated. Jiang Defu, CEO of Bona Film Group, admitted the difficulty in finding an audience for an AI movie after the movie's low ticket presales, stating, \"We are the first to try it, the first to get a theatrical release permit and the first to be tested by the audience.\" The film's failure can be contrasted with the unexpected success of another Chinese animated film, \"Niu Lai,\" created by a mother and son for a budget of just $200, which has become a meme despite its clunky animation and amateur performances, generating nearly $10 million. In contrast, \"Sanxingdui: Future Past\" is one of the most unprofitable films proportionate to its original budget. In the US, fully AI movies have also faced challenges in securing screens, with many audiences perceiving them as low-quality productions. Nevertheless, there are upcoming AI-led projects slated for theatrical release soon, but their prospects of finding an audience and making money remain uncertain.",
  "summary": "Stop, it's already dead! The post China’s First Fully AI Theatrical Film Flayed Alive at the Box Office appeared first on Futurism .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}