牛来

Synopsis

“A newborn calf, Niu Lai, takes a weary cloud-sparrow into his dream. Inside the dream, the sparrow watches the calf mature — guided by many forces — into a guardian willing to face life and death.”

On August 5, 2026, *Niu Lai* (《牛来》), a hand-made Chinese animated feature, slipped into mainland theatres with no trailer, no press tour, and only a single ink-wash poster. The entire 86-minute feature was created over five years by only two people — director Xin Yumeng and his mother, screenwriter Sun Lifang — who handled almost every step: script, animation, voice acting, and even the end-credit song "Breeze After Rain Has Fragrance." The producing company, Dalian Jingyuan, was originally an interior-decoration firm with a registered capital of just ¥100,000 — no professional animation studio, no industrial pipeline. By day 10 its cumulative box office was ¥7,169 — the lowest of any 2026 animated theatrical release. On day 11, the film went viral. By day 12 it was earning ¥5 million a day. By day 13, it crossed ¥10 million. As of August 18, cumulative box office exceeded ¥13.55 million, with a single-day high of ¥13.33 million, ranking 10th among 2026 Chinese animated films.

Film Details