China’s First Fully AI-Generated Feature Film Fails to Impress
JAKARTA — China’s first feature film made entirely using artificial intelligence (AI) has failed to attract audiences. The science-fiction thriller Sanxingdui: Future Past began screening in cinemas on Friday (23 October 2026), but ticket sales have slumped, potentially leaving the studio with heavy losses.
Ticketing platform Maoyan said more than 10,000 screenings had been scheduled for Friday. The large number of showings, however, has not translated into strong demand for tickets.
By Thursday evening (22 October 2026), advance ticket sales had reached just 65,000 yuan, or about Rp176 million. Maoyan forecasts that the film’s total box-office takings will not exceed 100,000 yuan, or around Rp270 million. That would be a stark contrast with production costs of more than 10 million yuan, or approximately Rp27 billion.
Jiang Defu, chief executive of production company Bona Film Group, acknowledged that the film’s reception had been less than satisfactory. He said, however, that making it was an attempt to push the boundaries of the film industry.
“We were the first to try it, the first to receive permission for a cinema release, and the first to be tested by audiences. I don’t think that was easy at all,” Jiang said in an interview with Chinese film-industry media, as reported by Japan Today on Saturday (24 October 2026).
Bona Film Group said nearly 100 people worked on the film for more than two years, at a production cost exceeding 10 million yuan. The effort has not been enough to persuade some viewers to pay for a ticket.
Iris Yang, who attended a free preview screening on Thursday, said she would not pay to watch the film because of its poor quality. “If AI-generated work could match the cinema-going experience of a film like Avatar, I think I’d be willing to pay to see it,” Yang said.
AI-generated videos are becoming increasingly popular in China. On Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, AI-based short dramas received more than 200 billion views in September. But Zhang Jun, an independent filmmaker working with AI, said that popularity did not necessarily mean audiences would pay to watch AI films in cinemas. “Audiences are used to watching AI short films for free. So they won’t automatically be willing to pay for a cinema ticket just because a film was made using AI,” Zhang told AFP.
Some Chinese social media users are also sceptical about AI-made films being shown in cinemas. One Weibo user said people would be reluctant to spend money on them.
“If they can be watched for free on streaming platforms, AI films might become something legendary. But if people have to pay to watch them, they won’t be ready to accept them yet,” the user said.