China's First Fully AI-Generated Feature Film Opens to Near-Empty Cinemas

China's first fully AI-generated theatrical feature film, "Sanxingdui: Future Past," opened on Friday to a tepid box-office response despite more than 10,000 scheduled screenings. By Friday evening, revenue was approaching 290,000 yuan (roughly $43,000) against a reported production cost of over 10 million yuan ($1.5 million), with AFP correspondents noting only four audience members at one Beijing screening. The sci-fi thriller, produced by Bona Film Group over more than two years with a team of nearly 100, features entirely AI-generated actors, voices, and backdrops.

Audience sentiment captured by AFP was blunt: viewers who attended free preview screenings said they would not have paid for tickets at the film's current quality level, with one attendee citing James Cameron's Avatar franchise as the benchmark AI cinema would need to reach. Independent AI director Zhang Jun noted that novelty alone would not drive ticket sales. The film's struggles stand in contrast to the explosive popularity of AI-generated short-form content on Douyin, where AI dramas amassed over 200 billion views in September, suggesting that audience appetite for AI-generated content remains largely tied to free, platform-based consumption for now.