Original | Odaily Planet Daily(@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser(@wenser 2010 )
Overnight, "Bull Coming" became a hot topic both inside and outside the circle, with the meme coin of the same name once reaching a market cap close to $30 million.
This animated film, released on August 5th, has sparked widespread attention and discussion due to its rough visuals, abstract plot, unexpected approval with the "Dragon Seal" (China's film release permit), and the "impressive" box office performance of only over 7,000 yuan in its first 9 days. The crypto circle focuses on its abstract art style, meme attributes, and the skyrocketing meme coin; meanwhile, outside the circle, a wave of "Bull Coming movie viewing and check-in frenzy" has swept through, with netizens at home and abroad expressing a desire to see just how abstract this film created by a former two-person renovation company team really is.
In an era dominated by exquisite AI-generated videos, "Bull Coming" shows us the roughness of "old-fashioned handcrafting" while, to some extent, expressing the people's eager expectations for a "bull market coming". One can only say that in today's attention economy, the power of memes far exceeds ordinary imagination.
A "Bull Coming", Telling Stories of Hardships: When a Renovation Company Was Pressured into Making an Animated Film
To discuss the "Bull Coming" meme, let's start with the movie "Bull Coming".
The "Sincere Work" of a Renovation Company: Online Rumors Suggest It Might Be a Roundabout Way to Reclaim Project Payments
The production company of the movie "Bull Coming" is named Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media Co., Ltd., established in March 2016. Its legal representative is Xin Yumeng, one of the film's producers. The company changed its name in July 2021; its original name was "Dalian Jingyuan Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.". Therefore, netizens joked that this is a renovation company switching to animated films, accidentally creating a new abstract masterpiece.
Online message, source as per watermark
"Bull Coming" Movie Box Office Reversal: From Over 7,000 Yuan in 10 Days to Over 2 Million in One Day
On August 5th, "Bull Coming" was officially released. Although it debuted alongside summer blockbusters like "Odyssey" and "Welcome to Dragon Restaurant", having no resources meant its screenings were a fraction of those popular movies, with a pitiful first-day box office of only 342 yuan.
By August 14th, after 9 days in theaters, "Bull Coming"'s box office was still stuck at just over 7,000 yuan. Many people hadn't even heard of this movie. However, unexpectedly, the rough modeling, stiff and choppy animation, the thunderous voice acting of the little calf calling "Mommy", and the ink-wash style promotional poster from the official film—all this abstract power spread wildly online, leading to the film's explosive popularity out of sheer curiosity.
It is understood that the film is set against the backdrop of the vast grasslands, telling the heartwarming story of a calf named "Bull Coming" who befriends a lark and leads it into a dream. In the dream, the lark witnesses Bull Coming's growth nurtured by love, perseverance, bravery, and sacrifice, eventually transforming into a little warrior who dares to take responsibility and face life and death. The film is officially categorized as "parent-child animation", but its art style is indeed somewhat laughable.
The Journey of "Bull Coming"
According to Maoyan Professional Edition data, as of 10:00 AM on August 16, 2026, the cumulative box office for "Bull Coming" has reached 2.531 million yuan, with a predicted total box office of approximately 18.376 million yuan.
Behind the Scenes of "Bull Coming": Dragon Seal Approval Isn't That Strict, Only Reviews Mandatory Restricted Content
Regarding the online buzz about how "Bull Coming" passed the notoriously strict "Dragon Seal" (film public screening license) review, the film's official account publicly responded: "(The Dragon Seal review) only checks for content compliance, not whether the movie is good-looking, the visuals are exquisite, or the plot quality is high. Mediocre quality, low-cost AI animation, as long as the content is compliant, can smoothly obtain the public screening license."
The official statement was, "This is also the key for all us ordinary people to realize our animation dreams!" Honestly, it sounds somewhat inspirational, like "little people can also achieve big dreams".
Cultural Dissemination, Meme is King: The 3 Layers of Cultural Reflection Behind "Bull Coming" and the 3000x Miracle of the Meme Coin
After "Bull Coming" sparked heated online discussions, the surging wave of memes followed swiftly.
Some say "Bull Coming" is the Chinese version of Pepe, not just in terms of counter-mainstream imagery but also similarities in art style. If foreigners can elevate a crying frog to godlike status, why can't we let "Bull Coming" break out of Asia and go global? This is a spiritual expression of cultural confidence and the symbolic value of memes!
After clips and images from the "Bull Coming" film spread overseas, they also sparked discussions among many foreign netizens:
- "So cool, honestly";
- "Knew it was trash from the 1st second, but ended up kinda liking it."
- "Send it to the US, add English dubbing, it'll definitely be a hit."
A film that originally had the potential to win the title of "lowest box office theatrical film of the year" has been interpreted by many foreigners as a "new cinematic talent" and a "super hit". Sometimes you have to admit that roughness to the extreme becomes abstract; and abstraction to the extreme also garners attention and sparks discussion.
Furthermore, some have already created rich derivative works based on the little calf element from "Bull Coming". Someone made abstract meme images similar to the previous "find a truckload of bread people to mess with you" meme, but replaced with the image of the little calf "Bull Coming".
Others turned the movie's promotional poster horizontally and paired it with a candlestick chart, resembling a price fluctuation graph.
Someone else did a creative mashup of "Bull Coming" and the popular "Spider-Man", producing a new movie poster – "Spider-Bull: A Brand New Day".
AI blogger CuiMao CuiMao urgently updated an AI-generated video, describing a thrilling story of the "stock market bull" centered on the theme of "delivery rider hoping for a bull market".
When a symbol transforms into a meme, when an image is seen as a vessel carrying myriad meanings, and when diverse derivative creations are born, like previous memes, "Bull Coming" is no longer just a crudely made film, but a term that is somewhat kitschy yet holds considerable value as social currency.
Looking at "Bull Coming" now: on the surface, it's a mother's parent-child project to fulfill her child's "animation production dream", taking 5 years and filled with familial warmth; from a symbolic value perspective, in a sense, it's a silent rebellion against today's assembly-line film industry, a mockery of the cultural hegemony of elitist-controlled heroism; from a practical life meaning viewpoint, it also embodies the common people's longing for a bull market, their fond memories of market uptrends and economic upswings, and their hopeful expectations for the future.
Compared with these elements, the "miraculous day" of the meme coin is also part of this phenomenon.
On August 14th, the "Bull Coming" meme coin of the same name launched. Trader Lana revealed she bought $99 worth of tokens when the market cap was only around $10,000; on August 15th, the "Bull Coming" meme coin's market cap surged past $12 million, with many who initially bought $100 worth seeing their investment multiply to over $120,000; today, the "Bull Coming" meme coin once soared to nearly $30 million, performing another "3000x miracle" in just 3 short days.
One can only say that miracles happen on-chain, and meme coins always manage to create wealth for early entrants in ways beyond ordinary imagination.
