{
  "id": 2766429,
  "title": "'Niu Lai', the 'so bad it's good' Chinese cartoon becoming a box-office hit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/niu-lai-the-so-bad-its-good-chinese-cartoon-becoming-a-box-office-hit",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-23T10:15:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RFI English",
    "slug": "rfi-english",
    "url": "https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20260823-niu-lai-the-so-bad-chinese-animated-film-breaking-box-office-records"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "An amateur animated film has become a surprise box-office hit in China, fuelling a wider debate about cinema, artificial intelligence and audience tastes. Made by a mother-and-son team on a shoestring budget, Niu Lai went from commercial failure to viral sensation after attracting a wave of negative reviews.",
  "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."
}