International
Warner Bros set to distribute 20th Century Fox in India
MUMBAI: Warner Bros. is in the process of signing a deal to distribute movies from the Rupert Murdoch-promoted 20th Century Fox stable in India, a development that goes to prove that arch rivals can get together to promote their business interests.
Recently, 20th Century Fox shut down operations in India following a long period of losses and financial mismanagement. The winding up process has ended.
“Warner is entering into a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox,” says an industry source. This will mean that 20th Century Fox will release its movies in India through Warner, once the agreement is inked.
Among the Hollywood players in the film distribution business, Sony Pictures Releasing of India (earlier Columbia TriStar) is the most successful with a turnover of Rs one billion in calendar year 2004. While Spiderman II grossed Rs 360 million, Anaconda earned Rs 220 million.
In India, Hollywood studios are entering into alliances to drive the distribution of their movies. Sony Pictures Releasing, for instance, has a running deal to distribute Walt Disney movies. The trend also is to mix the lineup with distribution of local Hindi products which are popular.
The closure of 20th Century Fox’s operations is unfortunate, industry analysts feel. “The distribution business is risky in India. Distributors will have to know what price they are paying for acquiring the rights to distribute these movies. Besides, there is a requirement to have the right local products,” says an analyst.
The studio had also come up with local releases such as Jhankar Beats, Pinjar and Tehzeeb. “However, of these Hollywood films, only X-Men broke even, while Jhankar Beats turned out an encouraging show,” the sources said
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.
