$71 to $9 million: how a mocked Chinese animation became an unlikely box-office hit

IMDb

Niu Lai (牛来) (2026), meaning “Here Comes the Cow/Bull”, is an 86-minute, crudely animated feature made by a self-taught mother-son duo from China.

Since its August 5 release, the film has gone from being near-invisible to a viral sensation in China and beyond.