China’s first fully AI-generated movie has flopped, earning just 1.7m yuan (£191,000) at the box office despite costing “tens of millions” to make, according to its producer.

But is it any good? The Guardian watched Sanxingdui: Future Past in a virtually empty cinema in Beijing, and found it no worse than plenty of human-centred mindless action flicks.

OK, well maybe a bit worse.

Sanxingdui tells a confusing tale of a future society in which every decision has been outsourced to algorithms and AI , leading to a global catastrophe. The only way to avert the impending doom is to unlock the hidden code that is hidden in the Sanxingdui, bronze sculptures linked to the ancient kingdom of Shu.…