OpenAI shuts down the Sora API on September 24, 2026. The company closed the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026. Disney signed a three-year licensing deal with Sora in December 2025 to allow OpenAI to train its Sora social video-gen app using characters like Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Black Panther, and Darth Vader. Disney bought a $1 billion stake in OpenAI at a $500 billion valuation. The decision to shut down the Sora API on September 24, 2026, follows the company’s earlier decision to close the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026, which left many creators searching for new tools. Disney will stream a selection of user-generated videos on its Disney+ streaming network.
Technical alternatives for professional creators
The release of the Sora 2 app in September 2025 was jaw-dropping for many observers. However, Sora is no longer a viable choice for new AI video projects because OpenAI discontinued its web and app on April 26, 2026. You already know the basic model differences, so look at the specific usage terms.
| Feature | Sora 2 | Runway Gen-4.5 | Pika | Veo 3.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Length | 25 seconds | 16 seconds | 10 seconds | Varies |
| Native Audio | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Resolution | 1080p | 4K (upscaled) | 1080p | Varies |
| Primary Strength | Sync’d audio | Camera control | Speed | Premium ads |
Runway targets professional and commercial video production. It provides 4K output and in-context editing tools like Aleph. Act-Two provides performance capture and lip sync. Motion Brush allows for targeted animation in specific regions. Every paid plan includes access to Gen-4.5 and third-party models like Veo 3.1 and Kling. Pika targets fast, stylized, short-form content. It generates clips in 30 to 90 seconds. Pika includes Pikaframes for extending clip length and Pikadditions for inserting elements.
Google DeepMind and A24 build a new workflow
Google DeepMind invested approximately $75 million in A24 for an AI research partnership. This investment marks Google’s first equity stake in a film studio. A24 receives capital and cutting-edge tools. Google DeepMind researchers work directly in A24 offices. A24 artists provide feedback on model performance and emotion. The partnership uses tools like Veo, Gemini, and Imagen. A24 Labs builds an AI storyboard tool to flag production problems before filming begins. This collaboration uses the expertise of A24 filmmakers and the research power of DeepMind. The deal is nonexclusive, so A24 can work with other technology companies. This partnership also involves Range Media Partners to manage relationships with actors, writers, and producers. One question remains: will other studios follow this equity-based research model?
Lionsgate adopts Runway for production
Lionsgate entered a partnership with Runway in September 2024. Runway fine-tunes its proprietary models on Lionsgate productions. This allows filmmakers to generate new imagery based on previous work. This arrangement differs from the Disney-OpenAI deal because it focuses on training models on existing studio catalogs. Lionsgate Vice Chair Michael Burns says AI helps augment and supplement operations. Some filmmakers at Lionsgate already use these tools.
Disney faces labor backlash over licensing
The Disney-OpenAI alliance caused significant tension within the creative community. SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America, and The Animation Guild sent an open letter to Disney calling the licensing deal a "Theft of Our Work". They want to ensure compliance with labor agreements. A 2024 study reported that 75% of film companies that adopted AI reduced workloads until the need for employees lowered. This led to companies reducing, consolidating, or eliminating jobs. More than 100,000 U.S. entertainment jobs could be at risk of disappearing by 2026. Tyler Perry also put an $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio on hold due to concerns about Sora.
Disney’s deal with OpenAI does not cover character voices or real-world human actors. It also forbids depictions of sex, drugs, alcohol, and interactions with characters owned by other companies. Disney remains a major customer of OpenAI for one year. The company provides ChatGPT to its employees and uses OpenAI APIs to build tools for Disney+. Families of the late Robin Williams, Kobe Bryant, Paul Walker, and George Carlin have urged OpenAI to restrict deepfakes of their loved ones.
Professional workflows require image control
Professional filmmakers avoid the "magic-prompt" approach. They use image-to-video workflows to solve composition problems first. Users generate a high-quality image in Midjourney, Firefly, or Ideogram. They then feed that image into Runway Gen-4.5 or Kling with a motion prompt. This method provides control over subject appearance and style.
In a typical production, the workflow begins with a script and storyboard. A creator defines the camera position, lighting, and mood. They generate a high-quality image that establishes the look of the scene. They then use the image as a reference for the video model. This process is more efficient than typing a text prompt alone. The winner of the AI video race is the company that captures the studio workflow before the legal rules harden.
Intellectual property disputes and the MPA
Intellectual property battles continue between tech firms and studios. Disney sued Midjourney and MiniMax for unauthorized character generation. The Motion Picture Association and ByteDance signed a Memorandum of Understanding to protect film and TV IP. This follows a cease-and-desist from the MPA regarding unauthorized videos of actors created via Seedance 2.0. ByteDance’s Seedance and Seedream models feed outputs into TikTok and CapCut. Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association demanded that OpenAI stop using copyrighted content from companies like Studio Ghibli and Square Enix.
The music industry moved toward a "settlement-as-licence" model. Universal and Warner settled infringement suits with Udio and Suno. These labels license recordings for AI use and set up streaming services for fans to generate variations. News Corp also signed a multi-year deal with OpenAI that could be worth more than $250 million over five years. Reddit signed a contract with Google worth about $60 million per year, while its OpenAI deal reached approximately $70 million per year.
The shift toward full stack ownership
The AI market favors companies that control the full technology stack. OpenAI released its first custom inference chip, Jalapeno, built with Broadcom. This chip aims to lower inference costs. DeepSeek closed a $7.4 billion funding round to double its headcount. The industry moves toward ownership of silicon, data, and deployment.
Micron broke ground on a $9.3 billion expansion of its Hiroshima fab to produce high-bandwidth memory. This expansion helps meet the demand for AI accelerators. Anthropic also signed a strategic agreement with Micron to cover memory and storage architecture design. The winners will be the companies that control both the models and the physical inputs.
