OpenAI’s video-generation app Sora exploded onto the scene in October, racing to the top of the App Store and looking like the next breakout “AI video social network.” But the momentum that powered its early surge now appears to be fading. Fresh market data indicates Sora is seeing noticeable declines in both downloads and consumer spending as the initial excitement wears off.
Sora is built on OpenAI’s Sora 2 video generation model and lets users turn text prompts into short AI videos. Even more attention-grabbing is its social, remix-friendly design: people can share creations for others to customize, and users can optionally cast themselves or friends into the scene. Add music, sound effects, and dialogue, and the app starts to resemble an AI-powered spin on short-form video platforms.
That setup helped Sora post an unusually strong launch. The iOS version reportedly crossed 100,000 installs on day one despite being invite-only, climbed to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store, and reached 1 million downloads faster than ChatGPT. Coming from a product that was limited to iOS and gated by invites, those are standout numbers.
In the weeks that followed, however, the trend shifted. Data from app intelligence firm Appfigures shows Sora’s downloads fell 32% month-over-month in December. That dip is particularly striking because December is typically one of the strongest months for app installs, thanks to holiday downtime and new phone activations. The decline continued into January 2026, with installs dropping another 45% month-over-month, landing at 1.2 million installs for the month. Spending is sliding, too: consumer spend was down 32% month-over-month as of January, according to the same dataset.
Overall, Sora has accumulated 9.6 million downloads across iOS and Android and about $1.4 million in consumer spending so far. The U.S. makes up the bulk of that revenue at roughly $1.1 million, followed by Japan, Canada, South Korea, and Thailand. Spending also appears to have cooled recently, with around $367,000 spent this month compared with December’s high of $540,000.
Rankings reflect that slowdown. On the U.S. App Store, Sora has slipped out of the Top 100 overall free apps and currently sits at No. 101, while reaching as high as No. 7 within the Photo & Video category. On Google Play in the U.S., it trails further behind at No. 181 among top free apps.
These numbers don’t suggest the app has vanished. Millions of installs and steady revenue are still meaningful, especially for a newer product category like AI video generation. But the direction of travel is hard to ignore, and several factors seem to be contributing at once.
Competition is intensifying. Google’s Gemini is gaining traction, with its Nano Banana model highlighted as a major draw, and Meta AI has also pushed into AI video experiences with features like Vibes video—helping boost its own momentum during the same window Sora first took off.
Sora has also been caught in a difficult balancing act around copyright and recognizable characters. Early on, OpenAI indicated that studios and agencies would need to opt out if they didn’t want their intellectual property used, which predictably drew backlash. At the same time, a lack of strict enforcement made it easy for users to generate videos featuring well-known characters, which likely helped fuel early adoption. As pressure mounted, the approach shifted: restrictions increased and the model moved from opt-out to opt-in, limiting what users could create. That may have reduced the “wow” factor that initially made the app feel viral.
OpenAI later announced a deal with Disney allowing certain character use, but so far the agreement hasn’t translated into a visible rebound in installs or spending. There’s also a reputational risk for brand partners, since some users have produced unsettling or inappropriate content using familiar characters—an issue that can quickly complicate mainstream licensing deals.
Then there’s the core social hook: letting others use your likeness. Even if it’s intended as playful and collaborative, many people are understandably uncomfortable with friends or strangers generating AI videos featuring their face. Combined with tighter limits on commercial IP, the novelty that once made Sora feel like the “TikTok of AI” may not be enough to keep casual users engaged.
Whether Sora can regain momentum may depend on what comes next: stronger and clearer copyright safeguards, more high-profile licensing partnerships, and new features that broaden what users can do without crossing privacy or IP lines. For now, Sora’s early surge remains impressive—but the data suggests the app is entering a tougher phase where hype alone won’t carry it.
