The low-budget Chinese animated film "Nu Lai," about a cow caught in a series of dreams, became one of the summer box office's biggest surprises thanks to its viral popularity – thanks to its confusing plot and low-quality graphics, the BBC reports.

In its first ten days of release, the film grossed only 7705 yuan (approximately 1140 USD). However, according to film tracking service Mao Yan, box office receipts later exceeded 11,4 million yuan, allowing it to compete with Hollywood blockbusters like “The Odyssey” and the new Spider-Man film.

Social media users are calling the feed an antidote to the flood of AI-generated content, praising it as proof of "real handiwork"—alluding specifically to the primitive nature of the animation. Some viewers admit to supporting the film out of superstition: in Chinese, the words "bull" and "cow" are written with the same character, and the boom in interest in the film coincided with hopes for a rise in the stock market.

Initially, "Nu Lai" received little promotion and didn't even have an official poster—some cinema staff drew their own posters to attract audiences. Due to the surge in demand, cinemas increased the number of screenings.

However, the film's success drew criticism. The state-run Beijing News warned that cinemas risked losing audience trust if they continued to "lower the bar" to screen more such films, and urged cinemas to "act as a filter for audiences" by preventing the release of films that were clearly of poor quality.