The box-office result and the claimed record
According to Maoyan Professional data cited by IT之家 on October 25, 2026, the film 《三星堆：未来往事》 reached a gross of 1.162 million yuan. The film was released in theaters on October 23, so the figure covers the first days of its run, although the material does not specify how many screens or spectators were involved.
The source presents the work as the first Chinese feature film intended for theaters to obtain public distribution permission from the National Film Administration through a production process entirely based on artificial intelligence. The record therefore concerns the production method recognized by the authorities, not an artistic or quality criterion: it is this distinction that gives substance to the label of first work of its kind.
How the film was produced
The runtime is 100 minutes and all characters are original digital figures; the material specifies that there is no digital replication of real actors. The work was carried out on the cloud platform developed internally by Bona, referred to as 博卡电影云片场, over two years, with more than 1.2 million base images produced and hundreds of iterations across the entire film.
According to the reconstruction provided by the company, AI mainly performed generation and execution functions, while ideation, screenwriting, shot design, and aesthetic judgment remained with Bona's AIGMS team. The organization mirrored that of a traditional set, with 17 professional roles including screenwriting, directing, production, set design, cinematography, lighting, sound, and editing, involving nearly one hundred people. This information consists of company statements reported by the source and has not been independently verified.
The plot and the limits of available information
The setting is a future in which humanity entrusts every decision to algorithms, triggering a global crisis; the key to escaping it would be traceable in seven ancient inscribed signs linked to Sanxingdui, according to the narrative scheme summarized as 'answer in the past, crisis in the future.'
The material does not indicate the number of screens, comparisons with other releases, audience or critical judgment, or production costs, so it is not possible to assess the economic sustainability of the model. It also remains to be clarified how the distribution permit concretely defines an AI-workflow film and whether the record will be contested by other productions.
