Sanxingdui: Future Past, China's first fully AI-generated film, flops at the box office

The first feature film generated entirely with artificial intelligence to receive a wide release in China, the sci-fi thriller Sanxingdui: Future Past, has had a very weak commercial start. According to French news agency AFP, cited by The Hollywood Reporter, the film opened last week and grossed an estimated $198,000. Initial ticket sales amounted to about 12% of its budget of 10 million yuan, roughly $1.5 million.

What matters is not just the figure, but the context. Other AI feature films had already been released in limited runs in other countries. They include Love You, a 95-minute Indian musical released in May 2025, and Malaysia's Pirate Queen: Zheng Yi Sao, released in January. Future Past, however, had more than 10,000 screenings on its opening day. According to the article, that makes it the first AI feature film with a truly wide release and reported box-office figures in a major market. The outlet describes it as the first real commercial test of this technology for full-length projects.

The film runs 100 minutes and is inspired by archaeological finds from the Sanxingdui civilization. Its plot fits the occasion: it depicts a future in which an artificial superintelligence has spread across the planet and humanity has ceded control to algorithms, plunging the world into crisis.

Jiang Defu, CEO of production company Bona Film Group, told Chinese outlet Yuli that the result does not diminish the value of the experiment. In his words, they were the first to try, the first to obtain a theatrical release permit and the first to be put to the test by audiences, something he considers far from easy. A viewer quoted by the same outlet was more critical: in terms of quality, compared with a human production, the film still falls short.

The article argues that the technology does not hinge on the fate of a single title. It cites Fortune as saying that in China AI already dominates micro-dramas, the short-form online series, with 95% of them generated with AI. Given that starting point, The Hollywood Reporter believes an AI-made feature film hit is only a matter of time.

The piece also places the release at a moment of attention on AI cinema in the West. It notes that the first chapter of an AI-produced version of The Odyssey, attributed to Elon Musk, was drawing backlash from US audiences just as Future Past was flopping in China. In addition, the first AI feature film in the United States is slated for a limited release on December 4. Titled Gods Don't Give Gifts, it is distributed by Fable and was created by YouTuber Gossip Goblin. It is an R-rated anthology of four science-fiction stories.

Overall, the case leaves a nuanced picture. The first major commercial experiment with an AI feature film has disappointed at the box office, and audiences have pointed to quality shortcomings. Even so, AI adoption in shorter formats is advancing rapidly. It is worth bearing in mind that the box-office figures are AFP estimates and that this concerns a single title and a single opening week.