The Sanxingdui AI film, Sanxingdui: Future Past (三星堆：未来往事), had earned about ¥1.162 million at the Chinese box office by 25 October 2026, according to Maoyan Pro figures cited by IT Home. It opened on 23 October and is the first AI-made feature to receive a national theatrical release permit in China.
The number is small. The milestone is not, and the way the film was built says more about where AI cinema stands than the takings do.
Key takeaways
- The film opened on 23 October 2026 and had reached ¥1.162 million by 25 October, per Maoyan Pro.
- It runs 100 minutes, and every character is an original digital figure. No real actor was digitally copied.
- Bona Film Group spent two years on it, generating more than 1.2 million base images and running over 100 full-film iterations.
- Humans wrote the script and made the creative calls. AI handled generation and execution.
- Regulators filed it as an animated film, because no separate AI category exists yet.
What is the Sanxingdui AI film about?
The story is set in a future where humanity hands every decision to algorithms, and that triggers a global crisis. The clues to fixing it point to seven ancient symbols from Sanxingdui, the Bronze Age site in Sichuan famous for its strange masks and bronzes.
Bona describes the structure as “the answer is in the past, the crisis is in the future”. There is some irony in a film about trusting algorithms too much being made with them.
How was the film actually made?
The whole film was produced on Bona’s in-house platform, “Boka Film Cloud Studio”. Bona’s AIGMS team set it up like a normal crew, with 17 specialist roles including screenwriter, director, producer, art, cinematography, lighting, sound and editing. Nearly 100 people took part, according to IT Home.
Think of the AI as a very fast, very literal camera and paint department. Humans decide what the shot should be. The model produces hundreds of candidates, and people pick, reject and redo. That is how 1.2 million base images turned into 100 minutes of film.
| Item | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Release date | 23 October 2026 |
| Runtime | 100 minutes |
| Development time | Two years |
| Base images generated | 1.2 million+ |
| Full-film iterations | 100+ |
| Crew roles | 17, nearly 100 people |
| Box office by 25 Oct 2026 | ¥1.162 million (Maoyan Pro) |
Why does the “first” label matter?
It matters because of the permit. Bona announced in April 2026 that the film had won a public screening licence from China’s National Film Administration, as Caixin reported. AI shorts and web series already existed. A licensed film in ordinary cinemas, sold with ordinary tickets, is a different test.
The paperwork is telling. National Film Administration records list it as an animated film, because regulators have no separate category for AI-generated content. It also grew out of Bona’s AI sci-fi short series, which Yicai and other outlets reported at more than 160 million views online. Other outlets quote a figure above 200 million, so treat the exact count with care.
Is ¥1.16 million a good result?
On its own, it is modest for a national release. I would not read it as success or failure after a few days. The first weekend of any film says little about its full run, and ticket revenue is only part of the picture for a project like this.
Bona itself warned that box-office income is uncertain. In a trading-unusual-movement notice on 12 October 2026, it said the film had its permit and a release date, but that revenue was not guaranteed, as 10jqka reported. The shares hit their daily limit up on 12 October on the news and fell 3.52% on 13 October. The company reported net losses of ¥1.464 billion for 2025, so the film is also a bet on a cheaper way to make content.
Opinion: the real question is cost per minute versus a live-action or classic animated film. Bona has not published a budget, so nobody outside the company can say yet whether this approach saves money.
How does it compare with other AI film debates?
The argument over authenticity runs through all of this. We covered one side of it in Blue Planet III’s cloudier footage, where the worry is audiences doubting real images. Here the worry runs the other way: audiences deciding whether a fully synthetic film is worth a ticket.
What happens next
Watch the cumulative box office over the next few weeks, the audience scores on platforms like Maoyan, and whether Bona publishes a budget. Bona has also opened its AI platforms to outside creators, so other studios may follow the same permit route. Regulators may also eventually add an AI category, which would change how these films are classified.
Note that sources differ on small details. An April report called the film Sanxingdui: Future Memories and gave a 90-minute length. Later reports, including TechNode, give 100 minutes, which is the figure used here.
FAQ
Is the Sanxingdui AI film fully made by AI?
Not entirely. AI generated the images and executed the work, but Bona’s AIGMS team did the concept, script, shot design and aesthetic judgement.
Does it use digital copies of real actors?
No. All characters are original digital figures, with no digital replicas of real performers.
How much has it earned?
About ¥1.162 million by 25 October 2026, according to Maoyan Pro. That figure will have changed since.
Want to follow the story? Check Maoyan’s cumulative box-office page for the film in a few weeks and compare it with the opening figure above.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
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