International
Universal ties up with Walmart to promote Hop in US
MUMBAI: For the promotion of its new live action/CG-animated film Hop, Universal Pictures has assembled 92 promotional partners and licensees worldwide like Walmart, Burger King, Comcast, Hallmark, the Hershey Company and Kodak.
For the film about Easter Bunny‘s rebellious teenage son, from Illumination Entertainment, the studio has lined up retailers, including Walmart in the US, Target in Australia, El Corte Ingles in Spain, hmv in the UK and Jay Jay‘s in South Africa.
In the US, Walmart has an exclusive partnership, marking the first time the company has used a licensed property to brand a seasonal campaign. Universal‘s exclusive deal with Walmart marks first time that the retailer has used a licensed property to brand a seasonal campaign.
It is also the first time that partners such as Bolthouse Farms and licensees like Lima Sky have been involved in a film. Lima Sky‘s “Doodle Jump: Hop the Movie” app, which was released earlier this month, reached No. 1 in the iTunes App Store Top Free Apps chart in China, Germany, Austria, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S., the app reached No. 2 as a Top Free App and it has garnered more than 3.2 million total global downloads since its release.
The total value in global support from partners and licensees equals more than $75 million, including $19 million in domestic television advertising, the studio said.
Comcast and Kodak are both featuring co-branded Hop television spots with custom animation from Rhythm & Hues, the same company that provided the animation for the film.
Hop is the second release from the Illumination Entertainment stable after last year‘s Despicable Me that grossed more than $540 million worldwide.
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.
