{
  "id": 2470905,
  "title": "‘So bad it’s good’: Rough animated film Niu Lai becomes surprise Chinese hit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/so-bad-its-good-rough-animated-film-niu-lai-becomes-surprise-chinese-2470905",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-22T01:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hong Kong Free Press",
    "slug": "hong-kong-free-press-hongkongfp",
    "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/08/22/so-bad-its-good-rough-animated-film-niu-lai-becomes-surprise-chinese-hit/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Chinese animated film, \"Niu Lai\" (meaning \"Here Comes the Cow\"), gained unexpected popularity despite being widely criticized for its poor quality. The low-budget movie, made by a mother and son, earned around 7,000 yuan ($1,000) in its opening week and then skyrocketed to 33.06 million yuan ($4.92 million) at the box office, according to ticketing platform Maoyan. The film's creator, an American musician, described it as \"so bad that it’s so good,\" praising its heart and human touch. The rough animated style, with stiff characters and awkward dialogue, quickly became a hit on social media due to its imperfections, which fans found hilarious. Merchandise featuring the yellow cow quickly sold out, and some experts noted that its roughness and absurdity set it apart from more polished productions.",
  "summary": "A low-budget Chinese animated film that was widely mocked for its crude visuals became a viral hit, with people packing cinemas to see just how bad it is. “Niu Lai”, which translates to “Here Comes the Cow”, earned around 7,000 yuan ($1,000) in its opening week from August 5, before surging to 33.06 million yuan […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
        "title": "‘So bad it’s good’: Rough animated film Niu Lai becomes surprise Chinese hit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/so-bad-its-good-rough-animated-film-niu-lai-becomes-surprise-chinese",
        "published": "2026-08-22T01:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}