The first 100% AI-generated film is a flop

On Chinese phones, computer-generated images are already a proven success: in September, AI-generated mini-series exceeded the 200 billion views on Douyin, the local version of TikTok. Sanxingdui: Future Past emerged from this pool, an adaptation of a short series that has amassed more than 200 million views since July 2024. Its universe draws inspiration from the ruins of Sanxingdui, the archaeological site in Sichuan famous for its bronze masks.Arriving in cinemas on October 23, the first Chinese feature film generated entirely by AI failed to find its audience.

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Ten million yuan budget, one million in box-office revenue

Bona Film Group, co-producer of The Battle at Lake Changjin, for many years the biggest success in Chinese box-office history, had high hopes for the launch. More than 10,000 screenings were scheduled from the first day, a volume worthy of a blockbuster. Pre-sales nevertheless peaked at 80,000 yuan, around 9,700 euros. After four days of release, the total had reached a meager 1.21 million yuan, just under 145,000 euros.

The bill exceeds 10 million yuan, or approximately 1.2 million euros. Nearly one hundred people worked on the project for more than two years, generating 1.2 million images and more than one hundred complete versions of the film. The studio boss, Jiang Defu, himself acknowledges the lukewarm reception. Showing at the same time, Niu Lai, an animated film with a deliberately rudimentary style, has meanwhile earned 64.29 million yuan in revenue, fifty times more. Chinese cinemas, meanwhile, are not deserted.

Why the big phone box office does not pay off

The gap between the two screens is first and foremost a matter of the economic model.On Douyin, generated miniseries can be watched for free, in episodes of a few minutes, between two videos. In theaters, the same universe requires a ticket, travel, and sustained attention, while the format magnifies every generation flaw. The feature-length format exposes faces and movements that image generation still struggles to sustain over time, whereas the short format hides the seams.

The entire industry was watching the effort as a full-scale test. The net loss approaches 9 million yuan if the trend is confirmed. In the United States, a Chinese cinema specialist already predicts that it will lead those considering a fully generated feature film to think twice. The film will play a second run internationally, with a release scheduled in Malaysia on November 12.

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Source: Futurism