Niu Lai: China’s Hilariously Bad Cow Film Goes Viral
Happy Monday, everyone. Usually Mondays bring depressing political news, but today I started by scrolling through a bunch of poorly drawn cows that made me laugh.
News is circulating about a Chinese film called Niu Lai, which shares its title with the protagonist and means “Here Comes the Cow.” The movie follows a young cow dreaming of becoming a brave, responsible adult. Made on a shoestring budget by a mother‑son duo who handled production, animation, and acting themselves, it’s famously terrible.
According to tracking site Mao Yan (via BBC), it only grossed 7,705 yuan ($1,140) in its first ten days but has now made over 11.4 million yuan ($1.7 million). The film has become a meme and a box‑office surprise in China, with social media users praising its terrible quality and mocking the rise of generative AI in filmmaking.
The buzz has forced many theaters to add extra screenings to meet demand. Because there is no official promotional poster, staff are drawing their own, resulting in a wave of creative, homemade artwork that fans find fantastic.
I am obsessed with this. That first one is my favorite, a Harvest Moon‑style cow face, while the others, which echo the film’s off‑putting animation, are equally weird and delightful.
Mi última obsesión es que en China estrenaron una película con un presupuesto de 200 dólares, deliberadamente mala, y se hizo viral por eso. Lleva ya casi 1 millón de euros recaudados, y como no tienen ni carteles oficiales, los dibujan en los cines. Se llama «Niu Lai».
— Diego (@diegolop.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T15:15:17.237Z
At the moment, the entire film is up on YouTube, if you want to enjoy almost 90 full minutes of cows that look like that. There are no English subtitles, so you’ll have to rely on context clues to follow along, but it’s worth at least skimming through just to enjoy the absurdity. There are lots of cows, a pack of wolves that attack the cows, a leopard that seems to be a friend to cows, and a bird that’s also around. Every last one of them is incredible.
