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Made for $1.5M, China's first AI film, Sanxingdui: Future Past, finds no takers with just $10K gross in pre-sales

Sanxingdui: Future Past is a sci-fi thriller that has been made over a two-year period with 100 people working on it. China's first fully AI-generated feature film opens in cinemas on Friday, in what promises to be a tough box-office test for the country's booming tech industry as advance ticket sales lag. More than 10,000 screenings of Sanxingdui: Future Past, a sc

By the Truvace desk2 min read1 sourceJournalismTRV-2026-2214· cite & verify
Made for $1.5M, China's first AI film, Sanxingdui: Future Past, finds no takers with just $10K gross in pre-sales

In brief

Sanxingdui: Future Past, described as China's first fully AI-generated feature film, was set to open in cinemas on a Friday. The sci-fi thriller was made over about two years with a team of 100 people. Reporting framed the release as a test for the country's tech industry, with advance ticket sales trailing expectations.

The release matters because it tests whether AI-produced films can draw paying audiences, not just show technical capability. The supplied text is cut short, so it does not show actual box-office results, audience reaction, or the film's quality, and early sales may not predict final performance.

Main points

  1. The film is described as China's first fully AI-generated feature film.
  2. It is a sci-fi thriller made over a two-year period.
  3. About 100 people worked on the production despite its AI-generated nature.
  4. Advance ticket sales were reported as lagging ahead of the Friday opening.
  5. The headline reports a $1.5M production cost and roughly $10K in gross pre-sales.

The problem

The first fully AI-generated Chinese feature film is entering cinemas with lagging advance ticket sales, which suggests audiences may not yet be buying into AI-made cinema.

The rundown

The article presents Sanxingdui: Future Past as a landmark for AI filmmaking in China. Its production ran for two years and involved 100 people, which indicates that an AI-generated film still relied on a sizeable human team.

The film's opening was framed as a box-office test for China's booming tech industry. The text says more than 10,000 screenings were involved, yet advance sales lagged, so the scale of the release did not translate into early demand.

According to the headline, the production cost about $1.5M while pre-sales grossed only about $10K. This figure covers only pre-sales, so it is an early indicator rather than a final commercial outcome.

Sources

  1. JournalismHindustan Times2026-10-23

The debate