Low-budget ‘Niu Lai’ emerges as a surprise hit with its ‘disaster-level’ animation, grabbing millions in China as curiosity rivals Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’_我的网站
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Photo: Screenshot from website
While Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and a string of high-profile domestic and international releases compete for audiences in China's fiercely contested summer movie season, an obscure animated film has emerged as one of the period's most unexpected box-office stories. Niu Lai, a low-budget original animation with rudimentary character modeling and an unconventional, abstract storyline, hit Chinese theaters on August 5 but earned just 7,169 yuan ($995) during its first nine days. But its cumulative box office had surpassed 2.5 million yuan as of press time. Niu Lai opened with little of the machinery normally associated with a commercial theatrical release. It had no star-studded cast, major promotional campaign or significant pre-release buzz. Its opening-day box office was just over 3,400 yuan ($474), with fewer than 300 moviegoers watching it during its first nine days, according to Maoyan. That changed on August 14, when a social media topic about its nine-day box office of just over 7,000 yuan went viral. Rather than praising the film, many users were drawn to its unusually rough production and two-person creative team. Terms such as “the most basic theatrical film,” “disaster-level” and “worse than AI-generated animation” circulated online, with some netizens saying they could “hardly believe it was a Chinese animated film released in 2026.” Others said they wanted to see it simply to find out “just how bad it could be.” Some even joked that stock market investors were heading to theaters after wishing for a “bull market” to arrive soon. The online buzz has also sparked a wave of fan-made content, with netizens inserting the film's little bull character into posters for various classic movies. The playful edits have further fueled its visibility on social media, turning Niu Lai into an internet meme and a shared online joke. The film's viral attention also spawned jokes that Nolan might not have expected Niu Lai to become an unlikely rival to The Odyssey, which opened in China on August 14 amid intense competition for summer moviegoers. Its rise stands in sharp contrast to the conventional logic of China's increasingly competitive theatrical market, particularly this summer, when a string of high-profile releases, including The Odyssey, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, are competing for audiences. "Niu Lai has been driven by curiosity and social currency, with audiences essentially paying a premium for the feeling of being part of a trending phenomenon. Curiosity can generate genuine audience interest, but social-media-driven hype is essentially a bubble built on traffic," Zhang Peng, a cultural researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times. "When cinemas add screenings for Niu Lai, they may appear to be responding quickly to market demand, but in reality, they are giving in to online buzz rather than making decisions based on the quality of the film itself," Zhang said. According to Zhang, The Odyssey's strong reception and high theater attendance in China demonstrate that high-quality content, combined with a distinctive and hard-to-replicate theatrical experience, remains at the heart of the cinema business. "Niu Lai, meanwhile, serves as a warning that speculative filmmaking and curiosity-driven marketing should not be mistaken for a replicable formula, as relying on such tactics offers little positive value for the long-term development of the film industry," he said. "A fleeting viral frenzy can never replace a solid creative foundation. Content quality remains the enduring value that will sustain the film industry over the long term," Zhang said. 。 36岁的哈登时隔53天终于续约了，根据ESPN名记Shams报道，哈登与骑士终于达成续约协议，他将签约3年9700万美元合同。哈登合同的第三年是球员选项和15%的交易保证金，他将继续搭档米切尔、莫布利与阿伦去冲击总冠军，且生涯总薪资突破5亿美元大关比肩詹杜库历史第4人。
哈登总薪资破5亿历史第4人比肩詹杜库
其一，哈登总薪资达到5.11亿美元，成为詹姆斯、杜兰特与库里后，第4位总薪资突破5亿美元大关的球员。
其二，哈登正式签约该合同时将年满37周岁，他也将成为历史上第二位在37岁以上签约超过9000万美元全额保障合同的球员，前一位是詹姆斯。
哈登最近4份合同签约情况均做出“牺牲”
2022年7月27日：与76人签约2年6860万美元合同
2024年7月9日：与快船签约2年7000万美元合同（含球员选项）
2025年7月6日：与快船签约2年8150万美元合同（含球员选项）
2026年8月21日：与骑士队签约3年9700万美元合同（含球员选项）
哈登时隔53天续约，未等来詹姆斯，却招募到沃特森
当哈登在6月底跳出4230万美元的球员选项，他迟迟没有续约，就是在等待骑士追求詹姆斯，但詹姆斯最终选择加盟76人。只是骑士之后依然延后哈登续约，直到通过多队大交易得到沃特森。
哈登在上赛季被交易到骑士，他帮助骑士取得突破，让骑士在后詹姆斯时代首次重返东决。
