OpenAI’s Sora Falls Behind Dave’s Hot Chicken in App Store Rankings

Since its release on September 30, OpenAI’s Sora app has taken the iOS App Store by storm, mainly due to its effortless AI video creation and a somewhat relaxed approach to copyright regulations. However, on Friday, its dominance came to a halt. The new leader is … Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Indeed! Not ChatGPT, Gemini, Threads, or any of the usual contenders. Dave’s Hot Chicken has now taken the crown in the App Store, with its wide-eyed mascot icon reflecting the astonishment of its rise. How did it manage to do this? How did it escape the clutches of OpenAI’s viral TikTok? By offering something that people crave even more than advanced AI: complimentary food.

“They’re running a promotion for free sliders in honor of Drake’s birthday,” says Adam Blacker, PR director at app analytics firm Apptopia. “Free food always drives downloads.”

If you’re curious about Drake’s connection to this, he invested in the fast-casual dining chain back in 2021, likely profiting handsomely when the company sold a majority stake to private equity firm Roark Capital for about $1 billion. For the third consecutive year, the company offered one (1) free slider to anyone who downloaded the app to celebrate Drake’s birthday. (The rapper and Raptors fan turns 39 today; the giveaway took place Thursday.)

“We’re celebrating a well-known celebrity who is currently relevant, while also getting food into people’s hands,” says Dave’s Hot Chicken’s chief technology officer, Leon Davoyan.

And it truly is reaching a vast audience. On an average week, Davoyan states that Dave’s sees between 20,000 and 25,000 new sign-ups for its loyalty program. Just on Thursday, the promotion led to 343,531 new accounts—over a 10 percent increase in the brand’s total membership in a single day, as reported by the CTO.

This was enough to push Sora out of the top position for the first time since October 3, marking an impressive run for an app that’s still invite-only. Within the first 23 days after its launch, Sora accumulated 3.2 million iOS downloads in the US, according to app analytics company Sensor Tower. That’s a much quicker trajectory than even ChatGPT, which amassed 2.3 million US downloads in the same timeframe. (Sora is not yet available on the Google Play Store, but it’s on the way.) OpenAI chose not to comment.

Although Sora is likely to regain the top position once the Drake promotion subsides, Dave’s Hot Chicken is expected to continue enjoying the advantages of its giveaway. Last year, Sensor Tower reported that app downloads in the four weeks following a similar campaign were more than 50 percent higher than in the month leading up to it. All those complimentary sandwiches certainly contribute to long-term gains.