wps

近期，国乒男队队长王楚钦在国际、国内比赛中接连输球，引发球迷热议。

B | 2026年WTT美国大满贯比赛，王楚钦在男单1/8决赛以大比分1-3不敌林德，爆冷出局。

C | 混双决赛，王楚钦和孙颖莎被韩国组合击败，获得亚军。转战乒超联赛，王楚钦的状态似乎仍未有明显好转。    

    Photo: Screenshot from website
Chinese animated film Niu Lai, initially mocked online for its "worest" production, has become an unlikely box-office and internet sensation in China and abroad, spawning memes, merchandise and growing interest from global audiences.
Niu Lai crossed 40 million yuan ($5.95 million) in box-office receipts late Saturday, according to Lighthouse, a Chinese ticketing and box-office platform. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey currently ranks sixth among this summer's top-grossing films in China, with box-office receipts reaching 457 million yuan.
The film opened in Chinese theaters August 5 and grossed just 342 yuan on its opening day. Its box office totaled around 7,700 yuan over its first 10 days before screenings and ticket sales surged beginning August 14, fueled by widespread online ridicule and curiosity about the film's notoriously rough animation.
It was made over five years by a mother-and-son team, with its crude animation, stiff character movements and unusual plot becoming the main source of its popularity.
It has since become a broader online phenomenon in China. Merchants have begun selling plush toys modeled on its characters, while fans have created memes, posters and other unofficial merchandise. Moviegoers have even placed homemade posters in theaters, although the production company has not released an official poster.
On Douyin, China's version of TikTok, users have produced numerous clips and other fan-made content based on the film. Multiple official Chinese accounts on the platform have also joined the trend, while some users have used AI tools to create new variations of the meme.
Police in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui Province, used an image from the film in a traffic-safety notice posted on its Douyin account.
Interest has also emerged in Hong Kong, where users on social media have been discussing the film's surprise box-office success and calling for its release in local theaters. Some users tagged Broadway Cinematheque, a Hong Kong independent cinema, asking when it would screen the film. The cinema's official account replied "in talks," prompting excitement among Hong Kong moviegoers. 
The cinema later said it had received a number of requests from audiences but that no screening plans had been finalized, local media reported.
The phenomenon has also crossed China's borders.
The Financial Times and other international media outlets have reported on the film, with some comparing its unlikely rise to cult movies such as The Room, which became famous in part because audiences embraced its flaws.
The movie's growing popularity has also moved beyond social media.
In San Francisco, two independently organized screenings of Niu Lai sold out, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The screenings were held at a time when the film had yet to secure a broad official overseas release.
The film is now attracting interest from overseas distributors, with Singapore film distributors considering bringing Niu Lai to local theaters, according to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao.
The Niu Lai meme has also been picked up by organizations outside China, showing how the film's imagery has begun to take on a life beyond the movie itself.
In Malaysia, a blood donation center in Johor Bahru used the story of Niu Lai in a humorous and inspirational social media message encouraging people to donate blood, according to Lianhe Zaobao.
The official TikTok account of Dutch railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen also joined the trend, using the Niu Lai meme in one of its posts.
Such uses suggest that Niu Lai is evolving beyond a film-related meme into a broader piece of internet culture, with institutions and brands using its recognizable imagery to connect with audiences, Zhang Peng, a cultural researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times.
The overseas response reflects a reversal of the traditional path for Chinese films seeking international audiences. Rather than being promoted abroad as a polished production built around Chinese culture or expensive visual effects, Niu Lai has traveled overseas largely because audiences found its roughness and absurdity impossible to ignore, he noted.
Its unexpected popularity overseas offers an unusual form of cultural export, driven not only by traditional film marketing but also by memes, curiosity and audiences' desire to experience the phenomenon for themselves, added Zhang. "Thanks to the strong conncted global online culture, such 'mission impossible' animation could become a global sensation and a reality."
。在男团常规赛山东魏桥与四川丰谷的单打比赛中，他以1-2不敌张煜东。在此之前，王楚钦在首秀中惨遭徐海东逆转，同样以1-2的比分落败。一时间，“王楚钦爆冷输球”“王楚钦状态堪忧”等话题冲上热搜，不少球迷纷纷发表各自的看法。有网友留言：“这水平，请问奥运会能做定海神针吗？”“输了就输了，奥运会又不是没输过。”“与马龙、樊振东相比，他还不足以挑起国乒男队的大梁。”不过，也有球迷指出，王楚钦在比赛热身时多次揉自己的手腕，可能受伤了，相信他会慢慢找到最佳状态。

D | 上个奥运周期，国乒男队坐拥马龙、樊振东两员大将，王楚钦、林高远等也多次代表球队参加国际大赛。巴黎奥运会，王楚钦在混双项目与孙颖莎联手夺冠，为国乒拿到奥运会乒乓球项目第一枚混双金牌。然而在男单比赛中，王楚钦却早早被淘汰出局，止步32强。

E | 好在樊振东不负众望，帮助国乒男单守住了防线，获得冠军，职业生涯实现全满贯。老将马龙则是在团体项目发挥作用，用一枚金牌为奥运之旅画上圆满句号。洛杉矶奥运周期，樊振东以一种令人遗憾的方式“被迫”退出世界排名，马龙也逐渐淡出国家队。

F | 如此一来，王楚钦成为了国乒男队的中流砥柱。

G | 由于近期整体成绩欠佳，王楚钦遭到了不少质疑。2026WTT美国大满贯，孙颖莎和王楚钦在混双决赛以2-3输给了韩国队的林钟勋和申裕斌。男单赛场，王楚钦以1-3不敌林德，意外无缘八强，国乒男队最终未能夺冠。2026年全国乒乓球锦标赛，王楚钦和孙颖莎搭档混双，两人在半决赛输给了袁励岑和王艺迪，无缘决赛。当时，不少球迷指出，王楚钦的表现不够理想，即便孙颖莎全力弥补仍难挽败局。转战乒超联赛，王楚钦在常规赛第一阶段与梁靖崑、周启豪等代表山东魏桥出战。首秀中，王楚钦以1-2惨遭徐海东逆转。短短几天后，王楚钦又在与四川丰谷队选手张煜东的单打比赛中以1-2告负，遭遇第二场失利。看乒乓球上咪咕视频！（罗掌柜）