International
Inception pushes Toy Story 3 to second spot overseas
MUMBAI: Upon registering a boisterous opening in Germany, the UK, France and South Korea grossing $53.7 million on the weekend from some 7,500 screens in 51 markets, the Leonard Di Caprio starrer Inception climbed up to the No. 1 spot on the foreign theatrical circuit edging out Pixar/Disney’s Toy Story 3 to the second spot.
Christopher Nolan‘s sci-fi thriller raked in an accumulated gross total overseas of $170 million. In Germany the film bagged $7.1 million from 715 locations at a per-screen average of about $10,000.
In France, the film finished No. 1 in its second market round, grossing $4.8 million from 715 sites. The UK provided $5 million from 750 locations in the film‘s third frame for a market accomulation of $31.5 million. In South Korea the film roped in $5.1 million from 395 sites.
Dipping nearly 40 per cent from its prior weekend‘s No. 1 gross figure, Toy Story 3 drew in $39.1 million from 8,213 screens from 48 markets and $826.1 million worldwide.
The animation threequel finished No. 1 in its second UK making the film the third biggest-grossing animation title ever to play the territory. Toy 3 also continues to be at the top spotin Japan where in the fourth weekend the film grossed $7.1 million from 529 venues.
Stretching out overseas with openings in at least nine markets was the weekend‘s No. 3 title, Sony‘s Angelina Jolie-starrer Salt which grossed an overall $24.5 million from 2,850 screens in 29 territories.
Director Phillip Noyce‘s Cold War thriller took the No. 1 spot in six territories, including South Korea ($6.5 million from 531 sites), Russia ($5.5 million from 706 situations), the Philippines ($1.25 million from 80 screens) and Malaysia ($1.135 million from 110 spots). In Japan, the film opened with $3.9 million from 334 locations while in Brazil, the film came up with $2.3 million from 252 screens.
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.
