Renovation Team Creates Abstract Masterpiece 'Niu Lai', Meme Coin Surges 3000 Times in 3 Days

Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

Author | Wenser ( @wenser2010 )

Overnight, "Niu Lai" became a hot topic both inside and outside the circle, with its namesake Meme coin reaching a market value of nearly 30 million USD at one point.

This animated film, released on August 5, has drawn widespread attention and discussion due to its rough visuals, abstract plot, bizarre approval process, and a box office of just over 7,000 yuan in its first nine days. The crypto community is focused on its abstract art style, Meme attributes, and the skyrocketing value of its Meme coin; meanwhile, outside the circle, a wave of "Niu Lai movie viewing check-ins" has emerged, with netizens from home and abroad expressing their desire to see just how abstract this animated film created by a two-person team from a former renovation company really is.

In today's world dominated by exquisite AI videos, "Niu Lai" showcases both the roughness of "traditional handcrafting" and, to some extent, reflects the public's eager expectations for "Niu Lai." It can only be said that in today's attention economy, the power of Memes far exceeds ordinary imagination.

A film like "Niu Lai" tells many bittersweet stories: When a renovation company is pushed to create an animated film.

To discuss the Meme "Niu Lai," we must first talk about the film itself.

The Renovation Company's "Sincere Work": Rumored to be a Roundabout Way to Collect Project Payments

The production company of the film "Niu Lai" is Dalian Jingyuan Cultural Film and Television Media Co., Ltd., established in March 2016, with the legal representative being one of the film's producers, Xin Yumeng. The company changed its name in July 2021 from "Dalian Jingyuan Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd." Therefore, netizens jokingly refer to it as a renovation company that accidentally created a new abstract masterpiece while transitioning to animated films.

Rumored information, source as marked.

"Niu Lai" Box Office Reversal: From Over 7,000 Yuan in 10 Days to Over 2 Million in One Day

On August 5, "Niu Lai" officially premiered. Despite being released around the same time as summer blockbusters like "Odyssey" and "Welcome to Long Restaurant," it had no resources and its screening volume was negligible compared to popular films, with a meager first-day box office of only 342 yuan.

By August 14, after 9 days of release, "Niu Lai"'s box office still lingered at just over 7,000 yuan. Many people had never even heard of this film, but who would have thought that the rough modeling, the stiff and jerky animation, the thunderous voiceover of the calf calling "Mommy," and the ink wash style promotional poster produced by the film's official team would lead to widespread online dissemination, causing the film to explode in popularity.

According to reports, the film is set against the backdrop of vast grasslands and tells the healing story of a calf named "Niu Lai" meeting a lark and taking it into a dream. In the dream, the lark witnesses Niu Lai transform and grow under the nourishment of love, perseverance, courage, and dedication, ultimately becoming a small warrior who dares to face life and death. The film is officially categorized as "parent-child animation," but its art style is indeed somewhat amusing.

The journey of "Niu Lai."

According to data from Maoyan Professional Edition, as of 10 AM on August 16, 2026, "Niu Lai"'s cumulative box office has reached 2.531 million yuan, with a projected total box office of approximately 18.376 million yuan.

Behind "Niu Lai": The Approval Process for the Dragon Mark is Not So Strict, Only Checking for Content Compliance

Regarding the heated discussions online about how "Niu Lai" passed the stringent "Dragon Mark (film public screening license) approval," the film's official response was: "(Dragon Mark review) only checks for content compliance, not whether the film is good, whether the visuals are exquisite, or the quality of the plot. As long as the content is compliant, even mediocre, low-cost AI animations can smoothly obtain a public screening license."

The official statement was, "This is also the key for all ordinary people to realize their anime dreams!" It does sound somewhat inspirational, like 'ordinary people can achieve great dreams.'

Cultural Transmission, Meme as King: The Three Cultural Reflections Behind "Niu Lai" and the 3000 Times Miracle of the Meme Coin

After "Niu Lai" sparked heated discussions online, the surge of Memes followed suit.

Some say, "Niu Lai" is the Chinese version of Pepe, not only a counter-mainstream image but also similar in art style. If foreigners can elevate a crying frog to the altar, why can't we let "Niu Lai" break out of Asia and go global? This is a spiritual expression of cultural confidence and Meme symbolism!

After the film and character of Niu Lai spread overseas, it sparked discussions among many foreign netizens:

• "So cool, to be honest";
• "I knew it was a bad movie from the first second, but I ended up liking it";
• "Send it to America, add English dubbing, it will definitely be a hit".

A film that originally had hopes of being the "lowest-grossing theatrical film of the year" has been interpreted by many foreigners as a "new film star" and a "big hit." Sometimes you have to admit that being rough to the extreme is abstract; and being abstract to the extreme can also attract attention and generate topics.

Moreover, some have enriched the calf elements in "Niu Lai" with creative reinterpretations. Some created abstract meme images similar to the previous "find a truckload of bread to mess with you," but replaced it with the image of the calf "Niu Lai."

Others took the film's promotional poster and turned it sideways, adding K-line charts, resembling a market trend chart.

Some even made a magical modification of "Niu Lai" and the popular "Spider-Man," creating a new movie poster------"Spider Cow: A New Day."

AI blogger CuiMao urgently updated an AI video, describing a thrilling story of "the stock market bull coming" centered around a delivery worker's anticipation.

When a symbol transforms into a Meme, when an image is seen as a carrier of countless meanings, and when various reinterpretations are born, like previous Memes, "Niu Lai" has become more than just a poorly made film; it is a somewhat kitschy yet socially valuable symbol.

Looking at "Niu Lai" now, on the surface, it is a parent-child work created by a mother to fulfill her child's "animation production dream," taking 5 years and filled with warmth of family love; in terms of symbolic value, it is, in a sense, a silent rebellion against the current assembly-line film industry, a mockery of the elitist control of heroic cultural hegemony; in terms of real-life significance, it contains the public's longing for a bull market, beautiful memories of market upswings, and future expectations.

In comparison to these elements, the "great miracle day" of the Meme coin also belongs to this narrative.

On August 14, the namesake Meme coin "Niu Lai" was launched, with trader Lana revealing that she bought 99 USD worth of tokens when its market value was only around 10,000 USD; on August 15, the Meme coin "Niu Lai"'s market value surged past 12 million USD, with many who bought 100 USD seeing their investment double to over 120,000 USD; today, the Meme coin "Niu Lai" surged to nearly 30 million USD, achieving another "3000 times miracle" in just 3 days.

It can only be said that miracles happen on the chain, and Meme coins always create wealth for those who entered the market early in ways that are hard for ordinary people to imagine.

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