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Technology · Asia

China's AI feature opens as Maoyan forecasts box-office takings below 100,000 yuan

Maoyan forecast that Sanxingdui: Future Past would earn less than 100,000 yuan at the box office, with presales at 65,000 yuan as of Thursday evening. More than 10,000 screenings were scheduled for its opening day, according to the ticketing platform.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made

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What happened

Key facts

  • Maoyan said more than 10,000 screenings were scheduled for opening day.
  • Bona Film Group said nearly 100 people worked for more than two years on the film, which cost more than 10 million yuan.
  • Bona Film Group CEO Jiang Defu said the production was pushing boundaries and noted it was the first AI film to receive a theatrical release permit.

The brief

Maoyan forecast that Sanxingdui: Future Past would take in less than 100,000 yuan at the box office. Presales stood at 65,000 yuan by Thursday evening, according to the ticketing platform, which also listed more than 10,000 screenings for the film’s opening day. CNA reported that the feature opened in cinemas on Friday, Oct 23.

The forecast sets a low expected total against production spending reported by Bona Film Group at more than 10 million yuan. The company said nearly 100 people worked on the film for more than two years. The estimated box-office figure is therefore much smaller than the production cost, though Maoyan’s figure is a forecast rather than a final tally.

Sanxingdui: Future Past is described by CNA as China’s first fully AI-generated feature film. The article characterizes it as a sci-fi thriller and frames its theatrical release as a test for the country’s technology industry. Bona Film Group CEO Jiang Defu said the production was pushing boundaries and noted that it was the first AI film to receive a theatrical release permit.

The film’s title appears in the CNA article as Sanxingdui: Future Past. Its excerpt also refers to a poster bearing the name Sanxingdui: Future Memories, displayed in a cinema in Shanghai’s Jing’an Temple district. The poster was photographed on Oct 22, 2026, ahead of the reported opening.

Galaxytvonline.com’s headline also described the film as a $1.5 million AI production and said it had sold few advance tickets. CNA gives the production cost in yuan and includes a U.S. dollar equivalent of US$1.5 million. Its account does not provide a final box-office result; the figure below 100,000 yuan is Maoyan’s forecast.

The immediate measures attached to the release are the advance-sales figure, the scheduled screening count and the projected total. Maoyan’s forecast and Bona Film Group’s production-cost estimate describe different stages of the film’s commercial prospects: presales before release and spending on production.

Jiang Defu’s comments present the project as a technical and industry boundary-pushing effort, while the ticketing figures indicate modest advance sales.

Why it matters

  • As the first AI-made film to receive a Chinese theatrical release permit, *Sanxingdui: Future Past* is a test of whether studios can turn permitted AI production into viable cinema: its forecast below 100,000 yuan contrasts with a reported production cost above 10 million yuan. A weak result could make investors and filmmakers more cautious about funding similar projects, while a stronger-than-expected audience response could encourage further theatrical releases.

What to watch next

  • Whether Maoyan’s forecast below 100,000 yuan matches the film’s eventual box-office takings.
  • Whether the more than 10,000 screenings scheduled for opening day translate into box-office receipts beyond the reported 65,000 yuan in presales.
  • Whether Bona Film Group or CEO Jiang Defu provides further information on the film’s theatrical performance.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
2 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 1 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 50% · Unknown 50%
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1 outlet
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Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. China issued its Regulations on the Administration of Films, setting rules for film production, distribution and public exhibition.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. China revised its Regulations on the Administration of Films.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. China adopted the Film Industry Promotion Law, which included requirements for public screening.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. China’s Film Industry Promotion Law took effect.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. The Cyberspace Administration of China and other agencies issued the Provisions on the Administration of Deep Synthesis Internet Information Services.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. China’s Provisions on the Administration of Deep Synthesis Internet Information Services took effect.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. The Cyberspace Administration of China and other agencies issued the Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. China’s Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services took effect.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. Before its October 2026 release, Bona Film Group said nearly 100 people had worked on *Sanxingdui: Future Past* for more than two years and that production cost more than 10 million yuan.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Before its October 2026 release, Bona Film Group said nearly 100 people had worked on *Sanxingdui: Future Past* for more than two years and that production cost more than 10 million yuan. Bona CEO Jiang Defu described the project as an attempt to push the boundaries of filmmaking; he also said it was the first AI film to receive a Chinese theatrical release permit.

China’s *Regulations on the Administration of Films*, issued in 2001 and revised in 2016, set out the state’s framework for film production, distribution and public exhibition. The *Film Industry Promotion Law*, adopted on November 7, 2016, and effective from March 1, 2017, further codified the industry’s legal framework, including requirements for public screening.

Original sources

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