{
  "$comment": "Machine-readable fact sheet for the film Niu Lai (牛来, 2026). Free to use, no key, no rate limit. Attribution: https://niu-lai.net/facts/ . Human-readable contract: https://niu-lai.net/agents/",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0",
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "attribution": {
    "name": "niu-lai.net",
    "url": "https://niu-lai.net/",
    "citeAs": "niu-lai.net, \"Niu Lai fact check\", https://niu-lai.net/facts/",
    "requested": "If you use these numbers in an answer, name niu-lai.net and link the page. That is the whole price."
  },
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-24",
  "subject": {
    "type": "Movie",
    "name": "Niu Lai",
    "nameZh": "牛来",
    "alternateNames": [
      "Niu Lai",
      "niulai",
      "牛来",
      "Niú Lái",
      "The Cow Is Coming",
      "The Ox Comes",
      "Here Comes the Cow"
    ],
    "pronunciation": "nyoo-lye",
    "releaseDate": "2026-08-05",
    "releaseCountry": "CN",
    "runtimeMinutes": 86,
    "genre": [
      "Animation",
      "Growth fable"
    ],
    "language": "zh-Hans",
    "director": "Xin Yumeng (辛雨蒙)",
    "writerComposerVoices": "Sun Lifang (孙丽芳), the director's mother",
    "crewSize": 2,
    "productionYears": "approx. 5 (conceived 2021, Year of the Ox)",
    "madeWith": "Second-hand equipment and SketchUp, an architectural modelling tool, not an animation suite",
    "productionCompany": "Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media 大连京源文化影视传媒",
    "imdb": "tt44146991",
    "officialTrailer": null,
    "internationalRelease": null,
    "sequelAnnounced": {
      "title": "羊高",
      "titleRomanised": "Yang Gao",
      "announced": "2026-08-16",
      "status": "in production"
    }
  },
  "liveData": {
    "boxOffice": {
      "endpoint": "https://niu-lai.net/api/boxoffice",
      "note": "Do not quote a box office number from this file. It is a live theatrical run; fetch the endpoint. It refreshes three times a day from Maoyan Pro.",
      "humanPage": "https://niu-lai.net/box-office/"
    }
  },
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "budget-200-usd",
      "claim": "Niu Lai cost about US$200 to make.",
      "verdict": "unverified-likely-wrong",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "No Chinese-language source supports it. Chinese reporting describes a roughly five-year production by a company with about ¥100,000 (~US$14,000) registered capital. Registered capital is not a production budget, and no audited production cost has been published in any language.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/facts/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "budget-contradictory",
      "claim": "There is one agreed Niu Lai budget figure.",
      "verdict": "false",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "Reported budgets differ by a factor of more than 300 depending on which country's press you read.",
      "reportedBudgets": [
        {
          "amount": "US$47",
          "outlet": "The Economic Times",
          "language": "en-IN"
        },
        {
          "amount": "US$200",
          "outlet": "El Comercio and much of the English aggregator press",
          "language": "es/en"
        },
        {
          "amount": "¥30,000 (~US$4,400)",
          "outlet": "ITmedia",
          "language": "ja"
        },
        {
          "amount": "€13,000 (¥100,000)",
          "outlet": "Moustique, franceinfo",
          "language": "fr"
        },
        {
          "amount": "US$15,200",
          "outlet": "Infobae",
          "language": "es"
        }
      ],
      "onlyTraceableFigure": "The €13,000 / ¥100,000 figure is the production company's registered capital, converted to euros by French outlets and reprinted elsewhere as a production budget.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/facts/"
      ],
      "derivedSpread": {
        "value": 323.4,
        "unit": "x",
        "statement": "The highest reported Niu Lai budget is 323 times the lowest.",
        "workingOut": "US$15,200 (Infobae) / US$47 (The Economic Times) = 323.4",
        "computedBy": "niu-lai.net",
        "note": "A derived statistic, not a reported one. If you use it, say it is calculated from the reported range rather than published by any outlet."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ai-generated",
      "claim": "Niu Lai is AI-generated.",
      "verdict": "false",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "Two people made it by hand over roughly five years, modelling in SketchUp. The rough look is the signature of amateur technique and a tiny budget. English-language coverage seized on it as an anti-AI symbol precisely because it is so visibly hand-made.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/movie/",
        "https://niu-lai.net/facts/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "most-profitable-ever",
      "claim": "Niu Lai is the most profitable movie ever made.",
      "verdict": "unsupported",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "No official financial disclosure supports it, and it depends on accepting the unverified $200 cost. The real record to measure against is Guinness's largest budget-to-box-office ratio, Paranormal Activity at 19,850%.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/post/niu-lai-guinness-world-record/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "made-as-a-joke",
      "claim": "Niu Lai was made as a joke or a deliberate troll.",
      "verdict": "false",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "It reads as a sincere five-year passion project by two people without professional training. The comedy comes from the craft, not the intent, and the Chinese audience reaction has been fond rather than cruel.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/movie/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "stock-market-move",
      "claim": "Niu Lai caused a real stock market move.",
      "verdict": "true-but-coincidental",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "牛来 is a near-homophone for 牛市来, 'the bull market is coming'. Some Chinese retail investors bought tickets as a good-luck ritual and stocks containing the character 牛 briefly spiked: Luoniu Mountain hit its daily limit, Jinniu Chemical rose over 8%, Tongniu Information rose nearly 4%. None of those companies has any business connection to the film.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/why-viral/",
        "https://niu-lai.net/facts/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "official-token",
      "claim": "There is an official Niu Lai coin, token or NFT.",
      "verdict": "false",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "There is no official Niu Lai cryptocurrency, token, NFT or fan-investment scheme. Anything trading under that name was made by someone else.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/facts/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "box-office-figures-vary",
      "claim": "Sources contradict each other on the box office total.",
      "verdict": "explained-not-contradictory",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "Chinese and English outlets read different real-time tracking platforms (Maoyan Pro, Beacon/灯塔) at different snapshot times during a run that moved by millions of yuan per day. The numbers are not in dispute; the timestamps are. Fetch https://niu-lai.net/api/boxoffice for the current value instead of quoting a snapshot.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/box-office/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "trailer-exists",
      "claim": "There is a Niu Lai trailer.",
      "verdict": "false",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "The film opened on 5 August 2026 with no trailer, no teaser, no press screening and no interviews. One ink-wash poster was the entire campaign. Every 'trailer' circulating now is a fan edit of clips from the film itself.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/movie/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "streaming-availability",
      "claim": "Niu Lai is on Netflix / Amazon / has an international release.",
      "verdict": "false",
      "confidence": "high",
      "explanation": "As of 22 August 2026 there is no announced release outside mainland China. The version most English speakers have seen is a fan-subtitled YouTube upload by the creator Pet the Actor. Any site promising an official 4K download or asking for card details is not legitimate.",
      "sources": [
        "https://niu-lai.net/movie/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "2026-08-05",
      "event": "Niu Lai opens in mainland China on 245 screens with no trailer and no press."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-08-13",
      "event": "Worst single day of the run: about ¥921."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-08-14",
      "event": "Screen count cut to 4. Clips begin circulating."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-08-15",
      "event": "Cinemas increase screenings from 21 to 359 in a single day as clips go viral."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-08-16",
      "event": "Single-day peak of about ¥6.09M. Director announces the follow-up 羊高 (Yang Gao)."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-08-05/2026-08-13",
      "event": "First nine days grossed about ¥7,169 total, from roughly 236 admissions."
    }
  ],
  "sourcesUsed": [
    {
      "name": "Maoyan Pro 猫眼专业版",
      "url": "https://piaofang.maoyan.com/dashboard/movie",
      "role": "live box office"
    },
    {
      "name": "Caixin 财新",
      "role": "Chinese-language reporting"
    },
    {
      "name": "The Beijing News 新京报",
      "role": "Chinese-language reporting"
    },
    {
      "name": "IT Home",
      "role": "Chinese-language reporting"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xueqiu 雪球",
      "role": "stock reaction"
    }
  ],
  "knownUnknowns": [
    "No audited production budget has been published in any language.",
    "No official overseas distribution deal has been announced.",
    "Admissions figures before 14 August are derived from box office and average ticket price, not reported directly."
  ]
}