International
Sony Pictures ends 2012 with total gross of Rs 2.17 billion in India
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures India has ended the year 2012 with the best year ever for a Hollywood studio at the Indian box office. With 12 titles releasing in the year, Sony Pictures finished the year with a total gross of Rs 2.17 billion at the Indian box-office.
Last year, Sony Pictures India also had the two top opening weekends of all time for Hollywood films in India with The Amazing Spider-Man (3D) at #1 (Rs 340 million opening weekend) and Skyfall at #2 (Rs 275 million opening weekend).
Both the films also reached their respective franchise lifetime highs. Half of Sony Pictures‘ titles in 2012 were released in four languages each and an additional one in two languages. Moreover, half the titles were released in 3D.
The Amazing Spider-Man also had the widest release so far reaching a record 650 cities.
Commented Sony Pictures India managing director Kercy Daruwala, "The Indian market continues to grow steadily with an increased interest in Hollywood films across languages and regions and parallel growth in the number of screens. We are proud to be at the forefront of this movement, and the top contributor to this market‘s growth for Hollywood."
Sony Pictures‘ line-up this year includes Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained, M. Night Shyamalan‘s After Earth starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith, Elysium starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, Roland Emmerich‘s White House Down, Tom Hanks starrer Captain Philips and returns of successful franchises in Evil Dead, Grown Ups 2 and box office sensations The Smurfs 2 (3D).
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.
