International
Dragon grosses $43.3 million on debut
MUMBAI: With a $43.3 million opening weekend, How to Train Your Dragon took the No. 1 spot. Distributed by Paramount, the DreamWorks Animation adventure, however, came second to the studio‘s Monsters vs. Aliens that opened with a collection of $59.3 million over the same weekend last year.
The film featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera out-performed some recent animated movies like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs that opened with haul of $30.3 million last September.
With an intake of with $17.3 million, Disney‘s Alice in Wonderland that could not be unsettled from its No. 1 spot for the last three weeks, slipped to second place, collecting a domestic total of $293.1 million and its worldwide haul of $656 million.
On the third spot was John Cusack‘s comedy Hot Tub Time Machine that had a lukewarm No. 3 debut of $13.7 million. Released by MGM, the movie has Cusack as part of a group of losers hurled back by a time-traveling hot tub to the 1980s, where they have a chance to set their lives right.
Interestingly, How to Train Your Dragon pulled in 68 per cent of its revenue from 3-D presentation.
After a phenomenal 15-week run, Avatar lost most of its remaining 3-D theatres to How to Train Your Dragon. The James Cameron‘s blockbuster fell out of the top 10 grossing $2 million to finish at No. 11.
Clash of the Titans, another 3D release, is to release this Friday.
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.
