It’s so bad, it’s become a box office hit.

Niu Lai, a low-budget animation film about a cow in a dream sequence has seen a huge jump in ticket sales after going viral for its confusing plot and terrible graphics.

It grossed just 7,705 yuan ($1,140; £843) in the first 10 days after its release, but has now made more than 11.4 million yuan, according to movie tracking site Mao Yan. That means it is holding ground against Hollywood blockbusters like The Odyssey and Spider Man: Brand New Day.

“You may regret for 80 minutes if you watch it, but if you don’t, you’ll regret it for life,” one popular social media post about the film said.

Other social media users have hailed the movie as the antidote to the AI slop that is taking over social media algorithms.

They are sharing clips praising Niu Lai’s “hand-crafted” method – a reference to the poor animation quality – as “proof” that its creators did not use AI.

“That’s some serious craftsmanship,” a Weibo user wrote.

Another social media user called it “pure handmade” and the biggest “dark horse” of the summer movie season.

Others say they are rooting for the movie because they desperately hope for a “bullish” stock market – a reference to the fact that the words “bull” and “cow” share the same character in Chinese.

“If the index reaches 4,000 tomorrow I will go to the cinema to support this movie,” one Weibo user wrote.

“It is a terrible movie but has a great name,” another comment linking the movie to stock investments said.

Niu Lai was a low-budget, lowkey production from the outset, and had received almost no publicity before its release earlier this month.

But now it has proved so popular that cinemas have added screenings of the film in response to the soaring demand.

But given that it does not even have a proper promotional poster, cinema staff have resorted to drawing their own posters to entice audiences to watch.