This Chinese movie’s terrible animation is an unwitting beacon of the anti-AI movement

The success of ‘Niu Lai’ shows that in the age of AI slop, viewers still yearn for content made by humans—even if it sucks.

Moviegoers will often flock to the cinemas for one of two reasons: in response to viral clips on social media, like in the case of Obsession, or because of the draw of a star-studded cast and director, like for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. But as summer comes to a close, Chinese animated film Niu Lai has become an unexpected hit for bringing people to theaters for another reason: its terrible quality.