International
IMAX & Lumière sign 10-theatre revenue share agreement in China
MUMBAI: IMAX Corporation, IMAX China Holding Inc., and Sichuan Lumière Pavilions Company Ltd. (Lumière), a leading exhibitor in China, announced a full revenue share agreement for 10 new IMAX® theatres. The theatres will be added to new projects located in tier one and tier two cities throughout China and are slated to be installed by the end of 2019. The deal brings Lumière’s IMAX total to 19 theatres.
“We consider IMAX a key competitive advantage for our business and today’s agreement is a direct result of the success we’ve experienced to date with IMAX, which generates incremental box office for our complexes,” said Jimmy Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Sichuan Lumière Pavilions Company Ltd. “IMAX has become a part of the movie going mindset of people in China and we look forward to offering our patrons more of the best films around worldwide in the premium, state-of-the-art IMAX format.”
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Lumière – a valued partner that will bring new IMAX theatres to popular shopping malls in excellent locations across the country,” said IMAX Corp. CEO Richard L Gelfond. “In the first quarter of this year, our signings growth in China was up 171% from last year. Today’s agreement, along with our recently announced 40-theatre deal in China, signals that this momentum continues. With our end-to-end technology, high brand awareness in China, and the steady rapid expansion of the cinema business, we believe there is a sizable opportunity for us to continue expanding in China well beyond our current footprint.”
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
