Is this the final curtain for Hollywood?
OpenAI has just launched Sora 2, a groundbreaking video generation app, and experts are raising the alarm about its potential to disrupt the entire film industry. The creators of Sora 2 boast that it can achieve feats that have long been deemed too difficult, or even impossible, for existing video generation technologies.
According to their announcement, “Sora 2 can model Olympic gymnastics routines, simulate backflips on a paddleboard with realistic buoyancy, and even depict triple axels performed with a cat precariously clinging on.”
This is one of the best Sora 2 videos I’ve seen; everything works perfectly. pic.twitter.com/OQ499mAt9E
— . ᴹᴰ ️️ (@Vox_Oculi) October 3, 2025
Slate magazine poignantly remarks:
Hollywood appears to be on the ropes. Its reliance on generative A.I. technologies, often used secretly until now, has put visual workers at risk—those who have been the backbone of mass media. If industry executives and celebrities believe they can shield themselves by adopting auto-generation, they are sorely mistaken.
OpenAI and other tech giants are adeptly navigating legal gray areas and protracted court cases, declaring their actions fair game. They are buoyed by allies in the Trump administration who have an aversion to liberal Hollywood and are sympathetic to arguments favoring A.I. development, whether to outpace China, stabilize the economy, or mitigate financial losses.
The New York Times has detailed how Hollywood is scrambling to safeguard its intellectual properties:
In the wake of Sora’s launch, Hollywood executives have spent the past 36 hours fretting about the app’s potential to allow users to replicate likenesses without any form of compensation. Shortly after the app debuted, WME, a leading talent agency, informed its agents that it would staunchly defend its clients’ work, as revealed in a memo obtained by The Times.
“There is an urgent need for real protections for artists and creatives as they combat A.I. models leveraging their intellectual property, including their names, images, and likenesses,” the memo stressed.
WME has noted that all its clients will opt out of having their images or intellectual properties integrated into Sora’s generated videos.
Meanwhile, Breitbart News characterizes the situation as Hollywood’s “most terrifying nightmare”:
The latest iteration of Sora is not flawless—it occasionally falters with dialogue and some glitches are apparent when the video is slowed down. However, these issues tend to vanish when the videos are played at normal speed, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Despite its imperfections, the program’s capabilities are astonishing, leaving Hollywood on edge as anyone with access to Sora 2 can potentially craft a cinematic-quality video just by narrating scenes—rendering studios, producers, actors, directors, and other artists obsolete.
My favorite new trend in the Sora app is putting Pikachu in every movie.
This is “Saving Private Pikachu” pic.twitter.com/pV8JYUb9SZ
— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) October 1, 2025
The roadmap for how generative AI video will enter mainstream film production is still nebulous. One thing is certain, though: as these technologies evolve, substantial portions of the film industry may face extinction.
Ben Kew is a writer and editor. Originally hailing from the UK, he relocated to the U.S. to cover Congress for Breitbart News and has since held editorial roles at Human Events, Townhall Media, and Americano Media. His work has also appeared in The Epoch Times, The Western Journal, and The Spectator.
You can email Ben Kew here, and read more of Ben Kew’s articles here.
