China’s first fully AI-generated feature film, the sci-fi thriller Sanxingdui: Future Past, opened in cinemas on Friday in what is shaping up as a tough box-office test for the country’s booming tech industry, according to AFP. Ticketing platform Maoyan listed more than 10,000 screenings for the opening day, but public reception has been far from enthusiastic. By Friday evening, film revenue was approaching 290,000 yuan ($43,425), and total takings were forecast at about 390,000 yuan, far less than the film’s reported production cost. With tickets priced between 20 and 90 yuan, the number sold is at most a few thousand.
The film was made by Bona Film Group, and the company said nearly 100 people spent more than two years on it at a cost of over 10 million yuan ($1.5 million). All of the actors, their voices, and the backdrops were generated by AI, and the story deals with the theme of humanity in a future shaped by AI. Bona CEO Jiang Defu acknowledged the lukewarm reception in an interview with the Chinese film industry outlet Yuli but said the project was pushing boundaries, since the company was the first to try such a film, the first to receive a theatrical release permit for one, and the first to have it tested by the public. He described that as far from easy.
Early viewers were not convinced. Iris Yang, who attended a free preview on Thursday for acquaintances of the production team and industry workers, said she would not have paid for a ticket given the quality of the film, and added that she would only pay if AI generation could match the theatrical experience of a major animated production like Avatar. Lilian Gong, 35, who went to one of the first screenings in central Beijing out of curiosity, said AI can only play a supporting role in filmmaking at the moment and that the quality still falls short of human production. She said that decades from now audiences might be willing to pay for such films, but for the moment very few would. Only four audience members were present at the screening AFP attended on Friday.
The weak start contrasts with the popularity of AI-generated video elsewhere in China, where AI-generated short dramas on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, drew more than 200 billion views in September alone. Independent AI director Zhang Jun told AFP that audiences will not automatically pay for tickets just because a film is AI-generated, and a Weibo user commented that such a film might become a hit if it were free on streaming platforms but that people are unlikely to accept paying for it at this stage. The debate extends beyond China, as the rise of AI has raised concerns among Hollywood film workers about job losses. An AI-generated sci-fi feature called Gods Don’t Give Gifts is scheduled for a US release on 4 December, and a virtual actor called Tilly Norwood, whose interviews have gone viral while fuelling those fears, is set to star in an upcoming film called Misaligned.
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