China’s first fully AI-generated feature film, Sanxingdui: Future Past, opened in cinemas on Friday, October 23, and had taken approaching 290,000 yuan ($43,000) by Friday evening, Dawn reported on October 24. Total takings were forecast at about 390,000 yuan ($55,000), a fraction of the film’s reported production cost of more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million). Advance sales had been weaker still, with presales of 80,000 yuan ($11,980) on Friday morning, according to AFP. Bona Film Group chief executive Jiang Defu acknowledged the lukewarm reception but said the film was pushing boundaries. The result is the first box-office verdict on whether audiences will pay to watch AI-made cinema.
A Cautious Opening For The First AI Feature
More than 10,000 screenings of Sanxingdui: Future Past, a sci-fi thriller, were scheduled for Friday, according to ticketing platform Maoyan. Ticket prices range from 20 to 90 yuan, which puts the number of tickets sold at a few thousand at most. Public reception was less than enthusiastic, AFP reported, even before the evening figures came in.
The morning picture was bleaker than the evening one. Presale revenue stood at 80,000 yuan ($11,980) on Friday morning, and total takings were then forecast to remain below 150,000 yuan. By Friday evening, revenue was approaching 290,000 yuan ($43,000), with the total forecast at about 390,000 yuan ($55,000). The improvement still leaves the film far short of its reported cost.
Jiang Defu, chief executive of production company Bona Film Group, acknowledged the lukewarm reception in a recent interview but said the film was pushing boundaries. “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 a Chinese film industry outlet. “I think that is not easy at all.”
Two Years, Nearly 100 People, No Human Actors
Nearly 100 people took more than two years to make the film, Bona said, although all the actors, their voices and the backdrops are AI-generated. The film touches on the theme of humanity in a future shaped by AI. The production effort shows how far text-to-video generation has come, and how much human labour a feature-length AI production still requires.
One preview viewer was unconvinced. Iris Yang attended a free preview screening on Thursday for acquaintances of the production team and industry workers, and said she would not have paid for a ticket, given the movie’s quality. “If AI generation can match the theatrical experience of Avatar, I think I would be willing to pay for it,” she said, referring to the US franchise known for the quality of its animation.
Short-Form AI Booms While Cinema Hesitates
The cinema result contrasts sharply with AI video’s success in short form. On Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, AI-generated short dramas drew more than 200 billion views in September alone. Yet that appetite has not carried over to the box office, at least for this first test.
Independent AI director Zhang Jun told AFP that “the audience won’t automatically pay for the tickets just because it’s an AI-generated film.” Online, Chinese social media users seemed unconvinced too. “If it’s free to watch on streaming platforms, it could become legendary. But paying to watch? People are not going to accept it at this stage,” one user on Weibo commented.
In Hollywood, the rise of AI has sparked concern among film workers about the prospect of job losses. An AI-generated sci-fi feature called Gods Don’t Give Gifts is scheduled for US release on December 4, and a virtual Hollywood actor called Tilly Norwood, whose interviews have gone viral while fuelling job fears, is set to star in an upcoming movie called Misaligned.
Why It Matters
Sanxingdui: Future Past matters because it separates two different AI-video markets that are often talked about as one. Short AI clips watched for free on phones are already a mass habit, with hundreds of billions of views. A cinema ticket is a different transaction, and the first film to ask audiences to pay for a fully AI-generated feature has found them reluctant. For studios weighing AI features, the lesson is that the technology is no longer the barrier. The audience is. The result will also be read closely across the AI video race between Kling, Runway and Veo, where the contest so far has been about quality and tools, not about whether viewers will pay at the box office.
Background
AI-generated video moved from short clips to feature-length ambition in only a few years, with short dramas finding huge audiences on Douyin while Hollywood workers raised concerns about jobs and a virtual actor drew viral attention. Sanxingdui: Future Past is the first fully AI-generated feature to reach cinemas in China, and its opening weekend is now the earliest evidence of whether theatrical audiences will treat AI-made films as real cinema or as a novelty best watched for free.
Source: Dawn, AFP via The Express Tribune
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