International
Die Hard sequel collects $10.1 million in first weekend
MUMBAI: Box-office receipts of 20th Century Fox‘s release of A Good Day To Die Hard, that was released in limited outlets, was the highlight of a sluggish session on the foreign theatrical circuit despite Sony‘s Django Unchained remaining No. 1 overseas for the fourth consecutive weekend.
Springing a jump on its US and Canada bow this week, the fifth installment of the action franchise starring Bruce Willis opened over the weekend in just seven Asian markets and managed to draw in $10.1 million at 1,102 locations for a per-screen average of over $9,000.
In South Korea, the opening take including previews was $4.2 million from 459 sites. The film set a Fox record in Indonesia and set a franchise record in Hong Kong ($1.2 million at 87 spots).
Over a 25-year span the four prior Die Hard titles all starring Willis have made money overseas grossing $694.6 million, while the second sequel of the franchise, 1995‘s Die Hard With A Vengeance roped in $264.5 million.
The 1988 original Die Hard drew $57.8 million in offshore box office, with the first sequel, 1990‘s Die Hard 2, grossing $122.5 million. The last sequel, 2007‘s Live Free or Die Hard, completed its foreign run with box office of $249.7 million.
Meanwhile, director Quentin Tarantino‘s Unchained collected $18.7 million from 5,280 locations in 65 markets. The action westerner co starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Di Caprio that has acquired as many as five Oscar nominations, has grossed a total of $187.1 million since its opening.
In Germany, its best market, Unchained drew $3.9 million in its fourth round at 843 sites for a market total of $35.6 million while in France, the film has been at the No. 1 spot for four consecutive weeks with the latest weekend tally ($3.3 million) down around 33 per cent from that of the last weekend.
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.
