The film 'Sanxingdui: Future Past' (سانشینگدویی: آیندهٔ گذشته) premiered on Friday in cinemas across China as the first feature film fully produced with artificial intelligence. This film, considered a major experiment for China's growing technology industry, has faced pre-sales lower than expected.
Ticket Sales and Predictions
According to published statistics, over 10,000 screenings of this science fiction film are planned, but its pre-sales have only reached 80,000 yuan (approximately $11,980), and total ticket sales are expected to remain below 150,000 yuan, which is a negligible portion of the reported production cost. Given the ticket prices ranging from 20 to 90 yuan, it seems that only a few thousand tickets have been sold.
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Jiang Defu, CEO of Bona Film Group, mentioned the unfavorable reception in an interview, stating that this film is breaking boundaries. He added, "We are the first to do this and have obtained a theatrical release license. I think this is not easy." Bona announced that nearly 100 people worked on this film for over two years, with a cost of about 10 million yuan (approximately $1.5 million), while all actors, voices, and backgrounds were entirely produced with artificial intelligence. The film explores the theme of humanity in a future shaped by artificial intelligence.
Iris Yang, one of the viewers of the free preview of the film, said that although she sat down to watch the film, she was not inclined to buy a ticket due to its quality. She added, "If AI productions can provide a cinematic experience similar to the film 'Avatar', I might be willing to pay."
Despite the rising popularity of AI-generated videos in China, social media users remain reluctant to pay for watching such films. One Weibo user wrote, "If this film were available for free on streaming platforms, it might become a legendary work, but people are not ready to pay for it right now."
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