Original|Odaily Planet Daily(@OdailyChina)
Author|Wenser(@wenser 2010 )
Overnight, "Cattle" became a hot topic both inside and outside the crypto circle, with its namesake meme coin once reaching a market cap close to $30 million.
This animated film, released on August 5th, gained widespread attention and discussion due to its crude visuals, abstract plot, surprising approval with the 'Dragon Seal' (China's film release permit), and a "staggering" box office of only over 7,000 yuan in its first 9 days. The crypto circle focuses on its abstract style, meme attributes, and the rapidly surging meme coin. Outside the circle, a wave of "Cattle movie-viewing check-in frenzy" has erupted, with netizens at home and abroad expressing their desire to see how abstract this film, created by a former two-person decorating team, really is.
In an era where exquisite AI-generated videos are prevalent, "Cattle" shows us the roughness of "old-school handmade" creation while also expressing, to some extent, the eager public anticipation for a "bull market." It can only be said that in today's attention economy, the power of memes far exceeds ordinary imagination.
A 'Cattle' Film, Telling Countless Bitter Stories: When a Decorating Company Was Forced into Making an Animated Film
To discuss the "Cattle" meme, let's start with the film "Cattle."
The 'Sincere Work' of a Decorating Company: Rumored to Be a Roundabout Way to Recover Project Payments
The production company of the film "Cattle" is Dalian Jingyuan Cultural Film and Television Media Co., Ltd., established in March 2016, with its legal representative being 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 decorating company switching to animated films, accidentally crafting a new abstract masterpiece.
Online rumor, source as per watermark
'Cattle' Box Office Reversal: From Over 7,000 Yuan in 10 Days to Over 2 Million in One Day
"Cattle" officially premiered on August 5th. Despite being a contemporary of summer blockbusters like "Odyssey" and "Welcome to Dragon Restaurant," it had almost no resources, with screenings being a fraction of those for popular films. Its opening day box office was a pitiful 342 yuan.
By August 14th, after 9 days in theaters, the box office for "Cattle" remained at just over 7,000 yuan. Many hadn't even heard of the film. However, the crude modeling, stiff and lagging animation, the thunderous voice of the little calf calling "Mama," and the official ink-wash style poster—all these abstract elements spread wildly online, sparking immense curiosity and making the film explode in popularity.
It is understood that the film is set against the vast grasslands, telling the healing story of a calf named "Cattle" who befriends a skylark and brings it into his dream. In the dream, the skylark witnesses Cattle's growth journey, nurtured by love, perseverance, courage, and dedication, eventually transforming into a little warrior who dares to take responsibility and face life and death. The film is officially categorized as a "parent-child animation," but its style is indeed somewhat laughable.
The journey of 'Cattle'
According to Maoyan Professional Edition data, as of 10:00 AM on August 16, 2026, the cumulative box office for "Cattle" has reached 2.531 million yuan, with a predicted total box office of approximately 18.376 million yuan.
Behind the Scenes of 'Cattle': 'Dragon Seal' Approval Isn't That Strict, Only Reviews Mandatory Restricted Content
Regarding the online buzz about how "Cattle" passed the stringent "Dragon Seal" (film public screening license) approval, the film's official account publicly responded: "[The Dragon Seal review] only reviews content compliance, not whether the movie is good-looking, the visuals are refined, or the plot quality is high. Mediocre quality, low-cost AI animations, 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 ordinary people like us to realize our animation dreams!" To be honest, it sounds somewhat inspiring, like "little people can also achieve big dreams."
Cultural Spread, Meme is King: The 3 Layers of Cultural Thought Behind 'Cattle' and the 3000x Meme Coin Miracle
After "Cattle" sparked heated online discussion, the surging wave of memes roared in.
Some say "Cattle" is the Chinese version of Pepe, not only as a counter-mainstream image but also similar in artistic style. If foreigners can elevate a crying frog to divine status, why can't we let "Cattle" break out of Asia and go global? This is an expression of cultural confidence and meme symbolism!
After clips and images from the "Cattle" film spread overseas, they also sparked discussions among foreign netizens:
- "So cool, honestly";
- "Knew it was bad from the first second, but ended up kinda liking it."
- "Send it to the US, add English dubbing, it will definitely be a hit."
An animation that originally had the potential to win the title of "lowest box office theatrical film of the year" has thus been interpreted by numerous foreigners as a "new film talent," a "blockbuster hit." Sometimes you have to admit that extreme roughness becomes abstract; and extreme abstraction also brings attention and buzz.
Furthermore, some have already created rich secondary content based on the little calf element from "Cattle." Someone made an abstract meme similar to the previous "find a truck of bread men to get you," but replaced with the image of the little calf "Cattle."
Others turned the film's promotional poster horizontally and added a K-line chart, resembling a market trend graph.
Someone also remixed "Cattle" with the hit "Spider-Man," creating a new movie poster—"SpidCow: Brand New Day."
AI blogger CuiMao quickly released an AI-generated video, depicting a thrilling story about the "stock market bull" centered on a "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 secondary creations are born, just like previous memes, "Cattle" is no longer just a crudely made film. It has become a term with somewhat kitschy but significant social currency value.
Looking at "Cattle" now, on the surface, it's a parent-child work where a mother fulfilled her child's "animation production dream," taking 5 years and filled with familial warmth. In terms of symbolic value, in a sense, it is a silent rebellion against the current assembly-line film industry, a mockery of the cultural hegemony of elitist-controlled heroism. From a real-life perspective, it also embodies the common people's longing for a bull market, their beautiful memories of rising markets and economic upswings, and their expectations for the future.
Compared to these elements, the "miracle day" of the meme coin is also part of it.
On August 14th, the "Cattle" meme coin launched. Trader Lana revealed buying $99 worth of tokens when the market cap was only around $10,000. On August 15th, the "Cattle" meme coin's market cap broke through $12 million, with many seeing their initial $100 investment multiply to over $120,000. Today, the "Cattle" meme coin once rose to nearly $30 million, staging another "3000x miracle" in just 3 days.
It can only be said that miracles happen on-chain, and meme coins always create wealth for early entrants in ways unimaginable to ordinary people.
