The Pulse
China’s AI Feature Opens to 300,000 Yuan in First-Day Sales
China’s first fully AI-generated theatrical feature, Sanxingdui: Future Past, opened on October 23, 2026, with Maoyan listing 300,000 yuan in first-day box-office sales. The film cost more than 10 million yuan to make, putting its early cin
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
Maoyan’s daily box-office board listed 300,000 yuan in sales for Sanxingdui: Future Past on its opening day, October 23, as China’s first fully AI-generated theatrical feature began its cinema run. The film cost more than 10 million yuan to make, according to its producer, Bona Film Group, leaving its first-day gross below 3% of that reported production cost. Maoyan’s October 24 update put the film’s cumulative gross at 320,000 yuan.
The opening followed subdued advance sales. Before the release, ticketing figures cited by CNA showed 65,000 yuan in presales as of Thursday evening, with Maoyan forecasting total takings below 100,000 yuan. More than 10,000 screenings were scheduled for Friday, giving the film broad initial availability but little evidence yet of strong audience demand.
A theatrical first, with a small opening
Sanxingdui: Future Past is a science-fiction thriller named for the ancient Sanxingdui civilization. Its October 23 release marks a first for a fully AI-generated feature in China’s cinema circuit, according to CNA. The milestone puts a feature made through an AI-centered production process in front of paying cinema audiences, rather than limiting the work to online viewing or short-form releases.
Nearly 100 people worked on the film for more than two years, Bona said. The reported production cost exceeded 10 million yuan, or about US$1.5 million. Those figures make the low opening more than a test of whether AI-generated imagery can fill a feature: they also put the project’s production scale and its commercial return in direct contrast.
Bona’s CEO calls the release an audience test
Jiang Defu, CEO of Bona Film Group, acknowledged the muted response in an interview with Chinese film-industry outlet Yuli. “We are the first to try it, the first to get a theatrical release permit, and the first to be tested by the audience,” he told Yuli, according to CNA.
The first audience reactions reported by CNA point to the difference between curiosity and willingness to pay. Iris Yang, who attended a free preview screening on Thursday, said she would not have bought a ticket given the film’s quality. “If AI generation can match the theatrical experience of Avatar, I think I would be willing to pay for it,” she said.
Independent AI director Zhang Jun made the commercial point more directly: “the audience won't automatically pay for the tickets just because it's an AI-generated film,” he told AFP. CNA also reported skepticism on Chinese social media about paying for AI films that viewers might instead watch free on streaming platforms.
China’s short-form AI audience is not a cinema crowd
AI-generated video already attracts large online audiences in China. CNA reported that AI-generated short dramas on Douyin, China’s TikTok equivalent, received more than 200 billion views in September. That scale has not yet translated into comparable demand for a feature requiring viewers to buy a cinema ticket.
The distinction matters for Bona’s experiment: online viewing totals measure reach, while ticket sales show how many people choose to pay for this particular film in cinemas. On October 24, Maoyan’s board showed 320,000 yuan in cumulative box-office sales after the opening day. Against a reported production cost above 10 million yuan, that remains a modest start for a release scheduled across thousands of screenings.
Sanxingdui: Future Past has cleared the production and release steps needed to reach cinemas, and it has supplied an early box-office figure. The first-day gross was 300,000 yuan; the reported production bill exceeded 10 million.