Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010)

Overnight, "Niu Lai" has become the hot topic both inside and outside the community, with its namesake Meme coin briefly reaching a market value close to 30 million dollars.

This animated film, released on August 5, has drawn widespread attention and discussion due to its rough visuals, abstract storyline, bizarre passing of the censorship process, and its admirable achievement of only 7000 yuan in box office after just 9 days of release. The crypto community is focused on its abstract art style, Meme attributes, and the skyrocketing market cap of its Meme coin; while those outside the community are swept up in a "Niu Lai movie viewing trend," with netizens both at home and abroad expressing their desire to see just how abstract this animation, created by a two-person team from a former renovation company, truly is.

In an era where exquisite AI videos are prevalent, "Niu Lai" not only showcases the roughness of "old-fashioned hand-rolled" animation but also, to some extent, expresses the public's eager expectations for "Niu Lai." It can only be said that in today's attention economy, the power of Meme far exceeds ordinary imagination.

A Film "Niu Lai," Reveals So Many Bitter Past Events: When a Renovation Company is Pushed to Create an Animated Movie

To discuss the Meme "Niu Lai," we must first talk about the film "Niu Lai."

The "Sincere Work" of a Renovation Company: Allegedly a Roundabout Way to Retrieve Project Payments

The production company of the film "Niu Lai" is called Dalian Jingyuan Cultural Film and Television Media Co., Ltd., established in March 2016, with the legal representative being one of the film's producers, Xin Yumeng. The company underwent a name change in July 2021, previously known as "Dalian Jingyuan Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd." Thus, netizens humorously refer to it as a renovation company turned animation film studio that accidentally created a new deity in the realm of abstraction.

Reported rumors, source image as watermarked

Box Office Reversal for "Niu Lai": From Over 7000 Yuan in 10 Days to Over 2 Million in One Day

On August 5, "Niu Lai" officially launched. Despite being released around the same time as popular summer films like "Odyssey" and "Welcome to Dragon Restaurant," it had no resources and had a screening volume insufficient to even match a fraction of those blockbuster films, with the first-day box office only a meager 342 yuan.

By August 14, nine days after its release, "Niu Lai" had box office earnings still stuck at over 7000 yuan, and many people had not even heard of the film. But who would have thought that the rough modeling, clunky and stiff animation, the thunderous voiceover in which the little calf calls "Mom," and the ink wash style poster official to the movie would all contribute to its widespread viral spread online, leading to countless curiosities and a sudden boom.

It is understood that the film is set against the backdrop of a vast grassland, telling the healing story of the little calf "Niu Lai" meeting a skylark and bringing it into a dream. In the dream, the skylark witnesses Niu Lai transform and grow under the nurturing of love, perseverance, courage, and dedication, ultimately becoming a small warrior who dares to face life and death. The film is officially classified as "parent-child animation," though the art style does indeed provoke a chuckle.

The Journey of "Niu Lai"

According to professional data from Maoyan, as of 10:00 on August 16, 2026, "Niu Lai" has accumulated box office earnings of 2.531 million yuan, with a projected total box office of approximately 18.376 million yuan.

Behind "Niu Lai": Passing the Dragon Mark Censorship Isn't So Strict, Just Checking Hard Restrictions

The film's official response regarding how the widely discussed "Niu Lai" passed the rigorous "Dragon Mark (film public screening permit) censorship" was: "(The Dragon Mark review) only checks for content compliance, not for how good the movie looks, how exquisite the visuals are, or the quality of the storyline. Mediocre, low-cost AI animation can easily obtain a public screening permit as long as the content is compliant."

The official statement was, "This is also the key for all of us ordinary people to realize our anime dreams!" It must be said, it does sound a bit inspirational, like "small people can achieve great dreams."

Cultural Dissemination, Meme is King: The Three Layers of Cultural Reflection Behind "Niu Lai" and the 3000 Times Miracle of Meme Coins

After "Niu Lai" ignited a wave of online discussion, the surging tide of Memes followed suit.

Some say, “Niu Lai” is the Chinese version of Pepe, representing not just an anti-mainstream image, but also resembling it in art style. While foreigners can idolize a crying frog, why can’t we let “Niu Lai” break out of Asia and reach the world? This is a reflection of cultural confidence and the spiritual expression of Meme symbols!

Once the movie clips and character of Niu Lai reached overseas, they sparked discussions among numerous foreign netizens:

• “So cool, to be honest”;
• “I knew it was a bad movie in the first second, but eventually ended up liking it a bit.”
• “Send it to America, add English dubbing, and it will definitely be a hit.”

An animation that originally had hopes of being awarded the “lowest box office theatrical film of the year” was thus interpreted by many foreigners as a "new film sensation" and a "big hit." Sometimes you have to admit that being rough to the extreme is a form of abstraction; and being abstract to the extreme can also garner attention and create topics.

Moreover, some have enriched the small calf element in "Niu Lai" through various kinds of remixes. Some have created abstract meme images similar to the earlier “find a truckload of bread people to mess with you,” but changed to the image of the little calf "Niu Lai."

Others have adjusted the film's promotional poster to a landscape orientation, complementing it with K lines, resembling a stock trend chart.

Some have even humorously remade "Niu Lai" in conjunction with the popular "Spider-Man," producing a new movie poster—“Spider-Cow: New Day.”

AI blogger CuiMao urgently updated an AI video, depicting a thrilling story titled "Delivery Person Awaits Stock Market Bull" based on the theme of "the bull in the stock market."

When a symbol transforms into a Meme, when an image is viewed as a carrier of countless meanings, and when various types of remixes emerge, like previous Memes, "Niu Lai" has become more than just a poorly made movie; it has evolved into a somewhat quirky yet socially valuable synonym.

Now looking at "Niu Lai," on the surface, it is a parent-child work created by a mother to fulfill her child's "animation production dreams," taking 5 years and carrying loads of familial warmth; in terms of symbolic value, it represents a silent rebellion against the assembly line-like film industry and mocks the hegemonic culture of elite control; regarding real-life significance, it embodies the public's longing for a bull market and their beautiful memories and hopes for rising markets and economic upturns.

Compared to these elements, the "great miracle day" of Meme coins is also part of it.

On August 14, the namesake Meme coin "Niu Lai" was launched, with a trader having bought 99 dollars' worth of tokens when its market cap was around 10,000 dollars. On August 15, the market cap of the Meme coin Niu Lai skyrocketed to over 12 million dollars, with many who previously bought 100 dollars turning it into over 120,000 dollars. Today, the Meme coin Niu Lai once rose to nearly 30 million dollars, staging another wave of “3000 times miracle” in just 3 days.

It can only be said that the miracle happens on the chain, and Meme coins will always create wealth for those who entered the market early in a way that is difficult for ordinary people to imagine.

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