International
Good Day To Die Hard clings to No. 1 spot narrowly at overseas box-office
MUMBAI: 20th Century Fox‘s A Good Day To Die Hard captured the No. 1 box office spot narrowly in its fourth weekend on the foreign theatrical circuit and managed to cross the $150-million total overseas mark ($162.3 million).
In China New Line/Warner Bros‘ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey registered an income of $37.3 million in 10 days thus propelling the Peter Jackson fantasy epic to a $700-million foreign gross total and more than $1 billion worldwide (only the 15th title in film history to surpass that figure).
Warner‘s also introduced Jack The Giant Slayer in 10 Asian markets like South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam and in India.
Playing at 1,824 locations, Jack rolled up a total of $13.7 million — more than a $7,500 per-screen average. Korea was by far the biggest market ($4.9 million at 507 sites).
With no new openings, A Good Day, the fifth part of action franchise starring Bruce Willis, grossed $18.3 million on the weekend at 8,199 locations in 67 territories. France was its biggest weekend market, throwing off $3.5 million and a No. 2 market ranking on the weekend at 665 spots. The France cume stands at $10.6 million.
Over a 25-year span the four prior Die Hard grossed a collective total of $694.6 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.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Paramount/MGM‘s 3D co-production distributed overseas in most territories by the former, grossed $15.2 million on the weekend overall at more than 3,500 locations in 54 territories and lifting its total overseas take to $127.2 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.
