Niu Lai (The Cow Is Coming) dropped in China on 5 August with no marketing, publicity, or promotional assets whatsoever. The 86-minute animation reportedly brought in a measly 7,700 yuan (£842) in its first 10 days of screening.

The story centres on a newborn calf and a skylark, as their unlikely bond unfolds in a strange, surreal dream.

“The newborn calf carried the lark, which had just flown in from the desert, into its dream. In the dream, the lark witnessed the calf gradually growing into a brave warrior who dared to take responsibility and face life and death under the influence of multiple forces,” China's Maoyan shared as the translated synopsis.

I'm so jealous of everyone in china who gets to go watch niu lai with their friends https://t.co/QCQKaWs6l9

unironically i think part of the appeal of the viral chinese movie “Niu Lai” is that looks exactly like gen alpha brainrot https://t.co/lLBpQisZ7l

We need to bring "Niu Lai" to Niu York https://t.co/PclikZzsvE

My entire twitter feed is Niu Lai now. I love absurd nonsense like this. I keep trying to bring it up and no one knows what I’m talking about https://t.co/VyT9AjmI2f

Now, Niu Lai has crept into the top five box office performances, sitting alongside some of the much bigger names taking over timelines.

Reports also suggest the amount has jumped to a staggering 8.2 million yuan (£900,000) as of Monday (17 August), with almost 300,000 admissions. Its total box office has reached 17.1 million yuan (£1.9 million).

That said, there's also been some pushback against the film’s success, with state-owned Beijing News criticising cinemas for giving Niu Lai additional screenings. They claimed that they could risk "losing the trust" of audiences if they "continue to lower their standard".