Bona Film Group's AI-generated film flops, earning $180,000 on $1.5M budget

Bona Film Group's Sanxingdui: Future Past opened October 23 as China's first AI-generated theatrical feature. The film launched with more than 10,000 screenings nationwide. It earned about $180,000 (1.21 million yuan) through October 26-27, against a $1.5 million budget. Theater occupancy fell to roughly 0.1%, averaging two viewers per screening.

The $1.5 million budget returned just $180,000 in ticket sales.
Nearly 100 staff spent over two years generating 1.2 million AI images.
Human teams retained creative control over narrative and artistic direction.
AI-related content contributes just 0.42% of Bona's total revenue despite strong margins.

AI now generates over 95% of China's microdramas, up from near zero a year ago.
Microdrama production costs fell to as little as $3,000.
Sanxingdui viewers cited low quality and high ticket prices of 20 to 90 yuan.
"The public is highly skeptical about AI use in major feature films, despite their general acceptance of short-form films," - Stanley Rosen, USC professor of Chinese film and society.

Bona's stock declined following the film's release.
A $200-budget animated film, Niu Lai, earned about $10 million, over 50 times Sanxingdui's revenue.
"The financial loss of Sanxingdui: Future Past will compel others contemplating using AI for feature films to tread more carefully," - Stanley Rosen, USC professor of Chinese film and society.

For Publishers & Developers: Reserve AI-generated assets for short-form and live-ops content, away from premium narrative tentpoles.
For Investors & VC: Haircut AI cost-savings claims in pitches from studios building long-form premium narrative games.
For Service Vendors: Pitch human art-polish and quality-QA services to studios shipping AI-heavy premium titles.