The first film in China to be made entirely using artificial intelligence has just hit theaters, and the verdict is in as viewers stayed away in droves.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Sanxingdui: Future Past” — described as the “first feature-length AI-generated movie widely released in China” — wound up becoming a failure at the Chinese box office.
A Box Office Bomb
Released last week in an estimated 10,000 theaters throughout China, the AI-generated sci-fi thriller grossed a measly $198,000, as reported by the French wire service Agence France-Presse.
AS THR points out, “Sanxingdui: Future Past” was the first all-AI movie to receive such a wide release in a major territory, which represents what is arguably “the first real commercial test of the technology for feature-length projects.”
However, early ticket sales were beyond dismal, bringing in only about a tenth of the film’s 10 million yuan budget (approximately US$1.5 million).
As the AFP reports, Jiang Defu, CEO of the film’s production company Bona Film Group, told Chinese movie outlet Yuli that the release of “Sanxingdui: Future Past” had been something of an experimental test run to gauge audience interest in AI movies.
“We are the first to try it, the first to get a theatrical release permit and the first to be tested by the audience,” said Defu. “I think that is not easy at all.”
One of the few filmgoers who did attend a screening was not particularly impressed. “In terms of quality, compared with human production, it still falls short,” someone who’d seen the film told AFP.
A Bad Omen?
The box office failure does not bode well for “Gods Don’t Give Gifts,” slated for U.S. release on December 4.
The first AI-generated feature film to be released in the U.S., the R-rated movie is described as a sci-fi anthology that combines four separate stories.
“On Niiro Cradle, where bodies are disposable and consciousness has been commoditized, four interconnected stories collide with the horrifying consequences of humanity’s attempt to transcend the flesh,” reads the description of the upcoming movie.
Interestingly, several weeks prior to the film’s release, the Oscar campaign has already begun.
“For five years, the question has been, When will an AI film win an Oscar? ‘Gods Don’t Give Gifts’ is the first that has a shot at a nomination and then it’s all to play for,” said Edward Saatchi, CEO of AI studio Fable, in a statement to Variety. “We feel it could be this generation’s ‘Toy Story’ — the fact that this generation’s ‘Toy Story’ is a dark, satirical, bold statement on all 2026’s fears about AI and our species’ future is an appropriate commentary on the questions we are all confronting as a society.”
China’s First All-AI Movie Bombs at the Box Office