International
I Can Do Bad is seventh consecutive Hollywood low-cost film to open successfully
MUMBAI: Tyler Perry‘s I Can Do Bad All By Myself turned out to be the seventh consecutive low-cost film that opened successfully when it sold an estimated $24 million worth of tickets in the US and Canada last weekend.
Produced at less than $20 million, the movie tops in the box-office chart of US and Canada.
Perry‘s films appeal primarily to black women on whom not many movies in Hollywood are targeted. I Can Do Bad followed that pattern, with the movie attracting 75 per cent of female ticket buyers and 80 per cent African American, it is understood.
Focus Features‘ quirky animated film 9 got off to a healthy start. 9 marks Focus‘ second offbeat animated film this year, after Coraline released in February that had a solid if not stellar $10.9-million opening weekend.
Inglourious Basterds continues to be at No. 3 on its third weekend with $6.5 million domestically. Overseas, the movie grossed $9.4 million and brought its foreign total to $99 million with several major territories including Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico left to go.
Warner Bros.‘ horror movie The Final Destination collected $17.3 million from international markets, bringing its foreign total to $55.3 million and worldwide ticket sales after less than three weeks to an impressive $113.5 million.
Summit Entertainment‘s horror film Sorority Row sold $5.3 million worth of tickets over the weekend while Dark Castle Entertainment‘s thriller Whiteout, which stars Kate Beckinsale and was distributed by Warner Bros, grossed $5.1 million.
Both films were disappointments, although the news was worse for Dark Castle because the production cost of Whiteout was $35 million while Sorority Row cost only $12.5 million.
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.
