International
Harry Potter film grosses $476 mn worldwide
MUMBAI: After grossing a staggering $168.6 million, Warner Bros.‘ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 notched up the top weekend opening of all time at the domestic box office.
Overseas, the film garnered $307 million thus bringing its worldwide debut to $476 million–the largest on record so far. With this, the film surpassed the $394 million earned by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Deathly Hallows 2 earned $92.1 million on Friday alone, including a record $43.5 million in midnight shows. It grossed another $42.8 million on Saturday, falling by 53 per cent.
Other records set by Deathly Hallows 2 domestically was that it became the only film to have had the largest opening day ever and the largest opening for the franchise. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, incidentally had got in $125 million on its opening day.
The previous record for best weekend opening domestically belonged to Warners‘ The Dark Knight, which grossed $158.4 million in its first three days.
Among the audience, females made up the majority of the audience at 54 per cent while 55 per cent of those buying tickets were over the age of 25.
Deathly Hallows 2 is the first film in the franchise to be released in 3D. It is said that only 4 per cent of the opening gross came from 3D theatres.
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.
