United States: The movie industry must prepare for a 100% tariff implemented by President Donald Trump on movies originating from foreign countries because his trade war with multiple nations continues to escalate.
More about the news
Trump authorized the Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to implement the levy through a Truth Social post against the declining movie sector, which faced “a very fast death.”
The industry has encountered harsh times during the last few years. The production halt during the pandemic continues to affect the industry.
Studios decreased their production spending by 20% from USD 11.3 billion in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2022 due to sustained cost cuts for Covid recovery purposes.
2023 witnessed an end to any emerging recovery by actors and writers through their strikes. The wildfires erupted during the beginning of 2025.
Do you understand Trump's movie tariff plan? Because Hollywood is totally baffled.
— Lucy Reed (@LucyReed234008) May 5, 2025
It's less a plan and more a theatrical performance designed to generate headlines. 🎬 The idea that tariffs on finished media imports will magically resurrect Hollywood…https://t.co/JV7MTTmuKL
For many years, adults and teenagers have begun accessing their content through YouTube and other streaming platforms, BBC News reported.
Variety reports that domestic revenues during 2025 experienced a 15.8% growth compared to the same period in the previous year following last year’s box-office upsurge.
The North American weekend box office champion became Thunderbolts*, which brought in an estimated USD 76 million against its summer premiere premiere. Hollywood exists in a challenging position right now.
Trump’s proposal
The president wants to “immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands. We want movies made in America again!”
Recently, there has been doubt surrounding the potential fate of American film companies that produce movies abroad in the context of the proposed tariffs.
Major American studio productions like Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked, and Gladiator II found their filming locations beyond the borders of America in recent times.
The Mission Impossible franchise belongs to the numerous major movie productions that film outside of America, BBC News reported.
The application timing of these tariffs remains unclear because it is uncertain whether they will be imposed on past imports as well.
As Trump stated later, “Other nations have been stealing the movies and movie-making capabilities from the United States”, which may suggest he was only referring to non-US films. We’ll have to wait for more details.
