International
Madagascar 3 No. 1 in foreign theatrical circuit
MUMBAI: DreamWorks Animation‘s Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted stepped into the No. 1 box office position on the foreign theatrical circuit by roping in $75.5 million in its opening weekend at 10,148 venues in 28 countries.
The second sequel in the Madagascar franchise took the No. 1 spot in nearly all of its opening markets with the biggest numbers coming from territories mostly outside continental Europe, claimed Paramount, distributor of the film.
France came up as the best European territory where the film‘s opening accounted for $7.6 million from 685 locations. Still, the distributor noted that the France opening was 13 per cent below that of 2008‘s Madagascar: Escape To Africa that went on to gross $423.9 million overseas.
Of the 28 opening territories, only five were Continental and Eastern Europe. Russia came in with $16.4 million from 881 spots while Brazil delivered a record opening of $11 million from 471 situations. The collections in China summed up to $10.4 million from 5,500 venues.
The number two position was held by director-co-producer Ridley Scott‘s horror-sci/fi title Prometheus that loosely linked to his 1979 Alien – which drew $39.2 million in its second weekend on the foreign circuit, playing at 8,263 sites in 50 markets. The 3D title opened in 35 markets of which about eight were in Europe.
It must be said that Prometheus claimed the No. 1 spot for the second straight weekend in the U.K. drawing $4 million in France from 665 situations for a market cume of $12 million over two rounds.
A new market was Australia where Prometheus opened at the No. 1 spot with $6.8 million swept from 635 locations. Openings in 14 more markets including Mexico and Brazil are due this week. IMAX has claimed that Prometheus has grossed nearly $5 million so far at IMAX situations.
At the No. 3 position was Men in Black III that fell 51 per cent from last weekend‘s action based on figures from all territories. The special effects extravaganza in 3D co-starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin drew $38.3 millionfrom 14,860 venues in 79 markets.
At number four was Universal‘s Snow White and the Huntsman that collected $24.6 million from 5,261 situations in 52 territories thereby lifting the film‘s foreign box office collections to $83.5 million.
At the No. 5 spot in the weekend was Marvel‘s The Avengers that captured $7.8 million in its seventh round in 54 territories. International cume stands at $824.4 million with the worldwide tally at $1.396 billion. Avengers is just about played out overseas although a key Japan bow is still in its future (17 August).
Paramount‘s The Dictator, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy, grossed $4.9 million in its fourth round overseas, playing at 2,091 locations in 32 territories and raising its foreign gross total to $70.3 million. Warner Bros.‘ Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp hit the $130-million foreign gross mark after a $4.56 million weekend at 3,268 in 52 markets. Openings in Latin America are due June 22.
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.
