International
21 Jump Street grosses $ 35 million; at No. 1
MUMBAI: Sony and MGM‘s co-production 21 Jump Street opened to a stellar $35 million at the domestic box office.
Starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, the film bagged the best debut ever for a non-sequel, non-summer R-rated comedy and also as one of the best bows on the books for an action-buddy comedy or a television-to-film adaptation.
Overseas, Jump Street released in 11 markets grossing $7 million, including a standout $4.3 million in Australia, where it launched ahead of past R-rated comedies The Hangover, Tropic Thunder and Bad Teacher. In the UK, the film grossed $2.5 million.
The film easily wrested the domestic weekend crown from Universal and Illumination‘s hit Dr. Seuss‘ The Lorax, that has ruled the domestic box office the last two weekends.
On the No. 2 position, Lorax continued to do good business with $22.8 million in its third outing for a domestic gross of $158.4 million.
Disney‘s John Carter continued to struggle grossing $13.5 million in its second weekend for a weak 10-day domestic total of $53.2 million. Overseas, the film grossed $40.7 million including a strong $10.4 million debut in China for an international total of $126.1 million and worldwide gross of $179.3 million.
Even with the strong performances of Jump Street and Lorax, the domestic box office dipped behind last year‘s level for the first time this year. Revenue was down 8 per cent, due to less depth in the holdover marketplace. Box-office observers credit strong reviews and good word-of-mouth for Jump Street‘s better-than-expected numbers.
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.
