Yesterday, OpenAI confirmed it would be shutting down Sora, its AI video generation app and social media platform that churned out slop featuring characters from Pokémon, Spongebob, Dragon Ball, and many other copyrighted franchises. The move comes as the company is refocusing on coding and business functions ahead of a potential public offering later this year. Disney was ready to go all in on the tech, having announced back in December that it would invest $1 billion into Sora to let people use its characters. Now, that deal is donezo in what is one of the biggest examples of the AI bubble bursting yet.
For folks who are entertained by keys jangling in front of their eyes and those who hoped to turn a profit from low-effort slop content featuring iconic characters, this is a huge blow. For the rest of the world, whether that be artists who have been suffering as corporations stop paying folks to make art in favor of the cheap non-labor of genAI or just people who have gotten tired of seeing this garbage on their feeds, this is a win. Despite all that posturing from AI diehards claiming that this technology would be the future of entertainment, animation, art, and everything else, one of the biggest companies in the space is collapsing in on itself.
We’re saying goodbye to the Sora app. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.
We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on…
— Sora (@soraofficialapp) March 24, 2026
Unfortunately, it’s not the end of AI as we know it, but OpenAI exiting the video generation side of its business is a glorious start, and the internet is reacting in kind. The fact that the app shares its name with the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts sets up half of the jokes.
charlie kirks soul being erased from existence after sora ai shuts down https://t.co/3EkZnwq8tC pic.twitter.com/swH0S25wJl
— FortCringe (@fort_cringe) March 24, 2026
“A moment of silence for sora ai” https://t.co/ROKxUkzvyG pic.twitter.com/zU6I62JAdA
— Cheesebrackers (@Cheesebrackers) March 24, 2026
let’s shut down all AI generated platforms not just sora pic.twitter.com/rQDLABqdyj
— bradley 🩷 (@bradleyberdecia) March 24, 2026
>Farmers blocking AI data centers being built
>Sora closing down
>Disney ending the OpenAI deal pic.twitter.com/RcKyKLXiyV— Doc Strangelove (@DocStrangelove2) March 24, 2026
SORA IS SHUTTING DOWN
AI IS LOSING BILLIONS
NETANYAHU IS MISSING
HANNAH MONTANA HAS RETURNED
SINNERS WON THE OSCARS
BAD BUNNY IS KING
MAMDANI HAS SAVED NYC
SEATTLE WON THE SUPER BOWL
TOMODACHI LIFE HAS GAY PEOPLE
YOSHI’S BLACK
THE WORLD IS HEALING
WOKE IS BACK https://t.co/4IAGLMyDcz pic.twitter.com/eHk2WqBFuq
— Official Chicken Little Movie Account (@RANDOMC_L_EVENT) March 25, 2026
“Sora AI is shutting down” https://t.co/zp9RHu3haR pic.twitter.com/NxyBn8TGez
— Adam/Piss Kirby(I LOVE FROST BONNET) (@piss_kirby_) March 25, 2026
pic.twitter.com/zn4MBFVKYm https://t.co/c5aU0AK5Dl
— [archer] (@archer_uwu) March 24, 2026
oh you think it’s soo funny that sora shit the bed and openai is going down the toilet, huh, well remember there are ppl that are sad about it and that’s funny too
— fredesque (@FredTaming) March 24, 2026
How it feels watching the AI slop bubble FINALLY busting https://t.co/Ng8q6WbBl5 pic.twitter.com/gn6o4doNg4
— autist (@litteralyme0) March 24, 2026
— Moca ★ (@mocaatr) March 24, 2026
POP THE BUBBLE!
POP THE BUBBLE!
POP THE BUBBLE!
POP THE BUBBLE!
POP THE BUBBLE! https://t.co/35sOgPpDQh pic.twitter.com/rkrF70UpC3— Stormslayer -HD Remasters/Gamedev (@StormslayerDev) March 24, 2026
One video generation app’s demise isn’t enough to tank the entire genAI ecosystem, but hopefully it is a harbinger of more developments like this as we watch people who swore up and down that this was the future of everything eat crow.