International
Fox’s Rio year’s first robust b-o hit
MUMBAI:20th Century Fox’s Rio turned out to be the year’s first robust box-office hit over the weekend as the film opened in 11,612 screens in 72 markets and grossed an estimated $55 million.
“This is a fantastic start for a new franchise,” declared Fox International co-presidents Paul Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus. “With consistently stellar reviews and excellent world-of-mouth around the world…we are well established to take advantage of the school holidays, which begin in the coming weeks,” they added.
Rio opened at No. 1 in nearly every market it played and scored particularly well in Brazil, where the weekend action came to $8.3 million from 1,013 locations, the market’s biggest animation opening weekend of all time.
The film’s Russian bow generated $10.4 million from 1,297 screens. Mexico provided $5.3 million from 1,624 sites, Germany registered $3.4 million from 920 venues while. The film is likely to open in France, Belgium and Italy US and Canada this week.
No. 2 on the weekend was Warner’s Sucker Punch that garnered $8.9 million from 4,550 screens in 50 markets, pushing the foreign gross total of the film to $32.7 million.
Third on the weekend was Sony’s Just Go With It, which delivered $7.9 million from 2,610 screens in 53 markets for a foreign gross total to date of $88.3 million. The comedy drew $1.7 million in its second Australia round at 310 sites and collected $5 million totally. The film is the biggest-grossing Sandler title to date in Brazil and Russia.
The weekend’s No. 4 title, Universal’s Hop grossed $5.9 million at 2,927 venues in 32 territories bringing its overseas total to $15.1 million while at No. 5 was Summit Entertainment’s Source Code that generated about $10.8 million so far on the foreign circuit thanks to a $3.2 million second weekend from some 20 overseas markets.
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.
