OpenAI's Sora App Struggles After Stellar Launch

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After rapidly hitting the top of the App Store in October, OpenAI's video-generation app Sora is now struggling. New data suggests the app is seeing declines in both app downloads and consumer spending, as the early hype about the AI video social network wears off.

Why it matters

Sora's rapid rise and subsequent decline highlights the challenges of sustaining momentum for new AI-powered apps, even those backed by a prominent company like OpenAI. The app's struggles also underscore the difficulties of navigating copyright and content moderation issues in user-generated AI content.

The details

Sora's mobile app downloads fell 32% month-over-month in December and 45% in January 2026. Consumer spending in the app also dropped 32% month-over-month as of January. OpenAI has struggled to contain copyright infringement on the platform, leading the company to shift from an opt-out to an opt-in model for using intellectual property. While a deal with Disney has allowed users to generate videos with its characters, this news has not yet boosted installs or spending.

• Sora's iOS version topped 100,000 installs on day one in October.
• Sora reached the 1 million downloads milestone faster than ChatGPT.
• Sora's downloads dropped 32% month-over-month in December.
• Sora's downloads fell 45% month-over-month in January 2026.
• Consumer spending in Sora dropped 32% month-over-month as of January 2026.