International
Underworld Awakening tops box-office
MUMBAI: Kate Beckinsale’s latest Underworld movie Underworld Awakening opened at No. 1 this weekend after making an estimated $25.4 million, it is understood.
While this is the fourth film in the vampire action saga, Beckinsale starred in the first two films as the warrior Selene. After taking a reprieve for part three, she returns for this latest installment.
Underworld Awakening was shown for the first time in 3D as well as on IMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million or in short 15 per cent of the film‘s weekend gross.
Distributor Sony Screen Gems had hoped the film would end up in the low-$20 million range. But according to the studio‘s president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer the film did even better despite a snow storm that hit much of the Midwest and East Coast.
Opening in second place was Red Tails from executive producer George Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in World War II. The film made an estimated $19.1 million, according to 20th Century Fox, which was well above expectations.
Last week‘s No. 1 film, the Universal smuggling thriller ‘Contraband‘ starring Mark Wahlberg, dropped to the No. 3 spot with $12.2 million. It‘s now made $46.1 million in two weeks.
The 9/11 drama from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, came in fourth place with $10.5 million.
Meanwhile, Steven Soderbergh‘s international action film Haywire from Relativity Media, starring mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano in her first film role, opened in fifth place with $9 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.
