Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010 )
Overnight, "Niu Lai" became a hot topic both inside and outside the crypto community, with its namesake meme coin briefly reaching a market cap of nearly $30 million.
This animated film, released on August 5, has garnered widespread attention and discussion due to its rough visuals, abstract plot, bizarre approval by the dragon logo censorship system, and its "remarkable" box office performance of just over 7,000 yuan after nine days. The crypto community is drawn to its abstract art style, Meme characteristics, and the skyrocketing market value of its associated Meme coin; outside the crypto world, a wave of "come watch and check in" enthusiasm has emerged, with netizens both domestically and internationally expressing curiosity to see just how abstract this animated film—created by a two-person team from a former renovation company—really is.
In an era where polished AI videos dominate, "Niu Lai" showcases the roughness of traditional handcrafted methods while, in some ways, expressing the public's eager anticipation for "Niu Lai." One can only say that, in today's attention economy, the power of memes far exceeds ordinary imagination.
A film called "Niu Lai" reveals countless bitter memories: when a home renovation company was thrust into making an animated movie.
To discuss the "Niu Lai" meme, let's start with the movie "Niu Lai".
The interior design company's "sincere effort": rumors suggest it may be a roundabout way to recover project payments
The producer of the film "Niu Lai" is Dalian Jingyuan Cultural Film & Media Co., Ltd., established in March 2016, with Xin Yumeng, one of the film’s producers, serving as the legal representative. The company changed its name in July 2021, previously known as "Dalian Jingyuan Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd." As a result, netizens jokingly remarked that it was a decoration company that accidentally became a new deity in the abstract animation film scene.
Rumors circulating online, image source as per watermark
The movie "Ni Lai" reverses box office trends: from just over 7,000 yuan in 10 days to over 2 million yuan in a single day.
On August 5, "Niulai" officially premiered. Although it was released alongside summer blockbusters like "Odyssey" and "Welcome to Long Restaurant," it received no promotional support and had far fewer showings than the popular films, earning a mere 342 yuan on its opening day.
On August 14, after nine days in release, the box office for "Niu Lai" remained at just a few thousand yuan. Many people hadn’t even heard of the film, yet unexpectedly, its crude modeling, choppy and stiff animation, the thunderous voice of the calf shouting “Mom,” and the official ink-wash style poster—all these abstract elements went viral online, sparking widespread curiosity and propelling the film to sudden fame.
According to available information, the film is set against the backdrop of vast grasslands and tells a heartwarming story of a young calf named “Niu Lai” who befriends a lark and brings it into his dreams. In the dream, the lark witnesses Niu Lai’s transformation and growth, nurtured by love, perseverance, courage, and selflessness, ultimately becoming a brave little hero willing to face life and death. The film is officially categorized as a “family animated” movie, but its art style is undeniably amusing.
The journey of "Niu Lai"
According to Maoyan Professional Edition data, as of 10:00 on August 16, 2026, the cumulative box office for "Niu Lai" has reached 2.531 million yuan, with a predicted total box office of approximately 18.376 million yuan.
Behind "Niu Lai": The dragon label review is not that strict—only checking hard-limit content.
Regarding the online buzz about how "Niu Lai" managed to pass the stringent "Dragon Label" (cinema release permit) review, the film's official team has responded: "The Dragon Label review only assesses content compliance; it does not evaluate whether the movie is good, visually polished, or narratively strong. Mediocre-quality, low-budget AI-generated animations can still obtain a release permit as long as their content complies with regulations."
The official statement says, "This is also the key for all of us ordinary people to realize our anime dreams!" And honestly, it does have a bit of an inspiring, "ordinary people can achieve big dreams" vibe.
Cultural dissemination, Meme rules: Three cultural insights behind "Niu Lai" and the 3000x miracle of meme coins
After "Niu Lai" sparked widespread online discussion, a powerful wave of memes surged forth.
Some say that "Niu Lai" is China's version of Pepe—not only does it embody an anti-mainstream image, but it also shares a similar artistic style. If foreigners can elevate a crying frog meme to legendary status, why can't "Niu Lai" break out of Asia and reach the world? This is a manifestation of cultural confidence and spiritual expression through meme symbolism!
After clips and images of the ox were shared overseas, they also sparked considerable discussion among international netizens:
- So cool, to be honest;
- Knew it was a bad movie in the first second, but ended up liking it a bit.
- Send it to the United States, add English dubbing, and it will definitely become a huge hit.
An animation that originally had the potential to be labeled the lowest-grossing theatrical film of the year has been interpreted by many foreigners as a "new cinematic sensation" or a "massive hit." Sometimes you have to admit that when something is粗糙 to the extreme, it becomes abstract; and when abstract to the extreme, it still garners attention and generates buzz.
Moreover, the little bull element in "Niu Lai" has been extensively remixed. Some have created abstract meme images similar to the earlier "find a car of bread people to mess with you," but replaced the characters with the little bull "Niu Lai."
Some people also lay out movie promotional posters horizontally and overlay them with candlestick charts, making them resemble market trend graphs.
Some people also created a modified version of "Cow Comes" and the hit movie "Spider-Man," producing a new movie poster titled "Spider-Cow: A New Day."
The AI influencer CuiMao urgently released an AI-generated video, telling a thrilling story of the "Stock Market Bull" centered around the theme of a delivery rider hoping for a bull market.
When a symbol becomes a meme, when an image is seen as a vessel carrying countless meanings, and when all kinds of fan creations emerge, “Niu Lai” is no longer just a poorly made film—it has become a slightly kitschy yet highly socially valuable term, just like previous memes.
Now looking at “Cow Comes,” on the surface, it is a parent-child project created by a mother fulfilling her child’s dream of animation production, taking five years and brimming with familial warmth; from the perspective of symbolic value, in a certain sense, it is a silent resistance against today’s mass-produced film industry and a mockery of the elite-controlled cultural hegemony of heroism; from the standpoint of real-life significance, it also embodies the general public’s longing for a bull market, their cherished memories of market rallies and economic upswings, and their hopes for the future.
Compared to these elements, the "Big Miracle Day" of meme coins is also part of it.
On August 14, the meme coin NiuLai launched, and trader Lana revealed she had purchased $99 worth of tokens when the market cap was only around $10,000; on August 15, NiuLai’s market cap surged past $12 million, turning many early $100 investments into over $120,000; today, NiuLai briefly peaked near $30 million, delivering another “3,000x miracle” in just three days.
All we can say is that miracles happen on-chain—meme coins always create wealth for early entrants in ways most people can't imagine.