U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on foreign films, calling them "national security threats" in a social media post on Sunday.
Trump's threat has lingered many problems due to sparse details. We uncover his threat, if enforced. Which film industry could be hit; how his tariff targets might retaliate and how that would affect ticket prices.
"The American film industry is dying rapidly," Trump wrote in an article on his Truth Social Platform. He added that other countries are offering "various incentives" to keep filmmakers and studios away from the United States.
"This is a unanimous effort by other countries and therefore a national security threat," Trump wrote.
Trump also described foreign films as “message and publicity.”
He concluded that his post said he was authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to "start the process immediately" to 100% tariffs on films entering the U.S., which is "made abroad."
On Monday, the White House seemed to take a step back. "While no final decision on foreign film tariffs has been made, the administration is exploring all options to fulfill President Trump's directives to protect our country's national and economic security while also giving Hollywood another positive review," White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
This is one of many problems caused by Trump's threat.
Like most things, movies in a globalized world rarely rely on resources from one country: Hollywood movies, for example, may have American financial backers, but can be shot in other countries, actors and crew from around the world.
For example, Sky Studios Elstree in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England made one of the most popular Hollywood movies of 2024.
A part of Greta Gerwig's Barbie Doll, released in 2023, was shot at Studios at Warner Brothers, leaving Hertfordshire, England. The California-style Dreamhouse of Barbie dolls was actually built in a British studio. During the shooting, Barbie production generated more than 80 million pounds ($106 million) for the UK economy, creating jobs and supporting local businesses.
The Rube Goldberg machine that replaced the bright pink pool slide for candy dishes, the same studio turned into the chocolate factory at Willy Wonka in Paul King's Wonka later that year.
Last year, many American films were also filmed in Australia in part or all, including the comedy action movie starring Ryan Gosling and the Kingdom of Planet of the Apes. The Australian federal government provides incentives for Australia's big film projects, including a 30% rebate under the position shift program. New Zealand offers similar tax relief incentives.
The American Gothic horror film Nosferatu was released the same year and was filmed in Prague, Czech Republic. American films are also filmed in New Zealand, Spain, Germany and other countries.
On the other hand, many non-American films were filmed at least in the United States. The last two decades of Bollywood movies have successfully used Brooklyn Bridge, Miami’s beaches and Chicago’s neighborhoods as the backdrop for plots ranging from romantic comedy to looting, which adds to the U.S. appeal to Indian tourists. It is not clear whether such films (which bring income to the United States) will be classified as "foreign" films.
Indian films generate considerable revenue from foreign markets. According to the website box office India website, the biopic of the famous Indian wrestling sisters "Dangal" is the box office of the Indian website box office, and Wording Boxing India said that Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat from the United States and Canada are from Babita Phogat.
India's box office was about $100 million, Shibasish Sarkar, president of the Indian Producers Association, told the Indian News Trust (PTI) on Monday. "The price-sensitive diaspora market becomes a source of income for Indian films," film producer Vivek Agnihotri told PTI. Sarkar and Agnihotri speculated that ticket prices would rise if tariffs were imposed. "I don't think anyone will watch them in the theater, especially when the movie will be released on Netflix, Amazon, etc."
The United States is home to the world's largest Indian expatriate population of 5.4 million.
But it's not just about getting a considerable Indian movie in the United States. Peru's Paddington is a 2024 film that is part of a UK franchise that revolves around the personification bear Paddington, making $45 million in the United States.
Movies from South Korea also performed well in the US market. In April, the animated film The King of Kings, directed by Seong Ho Jang, earned $54.7 million at the box office, surpassing Bong Joon-Ho's 2019 Film Academy Award-winning parasite, which generated $53.8 million in the United States. These are the top Korean movies in the United States. But King of Kings is an English-language film starring Hollywood names such as Oscar Isaac. Parasite is a Korean-language movie.
On the other hand, films from countries like China hardly rely on American viewership rates – language is still a barrier they cannot overcome.
In February this year, the Chinese animated film NE ZHA 2 became the highest-grossing animated film in history, making $1.9 billion after four weeks of release, according to data from China's ticketing platform Maoyan. More than 99% of the box office revenue of Mandarin movies comes from mainland China. According to IMDB's box office Mojo, Yolo is the 2024 Chinese comedy super music, earning $2 million in the United States despite being the 14th highest-grossing movie worldwide.
Australia's Home Minister and Arts Minister Tony Burke responded to Trump's threat: "No one has no doubt that we will stand up clearly and stand up for the rights of the Australian screen industry."
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said his government is waiting for more details about the tariffs. "We will have to understand the details of what will happen in the end. But we are obviously a great advocate, a great advocate for the industry and the industry," he said.
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, the British media and entertainment alliance, called on her government to protect its film industry.
"These tariffs are caused by Covid and the recent slowdown and could hit an industry that has just recovered," Childs said.
U.S. media stocks fell Monday after Trump announced the news. Stocks of streaming giant Netflix fell 2.5% in early trading, while Disney, Warner Bros. and Comcast also fell 0.7% to 1.7%.
"There is too much uncertainty and the latest moves raise more questions than answers," PP Vision analyst Paolo Pescatore told Reuters news agency. "This is not something that will happen in the short term, because everyone will work hard to understand the whole process. The inevitable cost will be passed on to consumers."
Hollywood has encountered several setbacks in recent years, including the 19th pandemic.
Last year, Hollywood studios saw a global box office of about $30 billion, down about 7% from 2023, according to Gower Street Analytics. Although last year's revenue performance was better than 2020, 2021 and 2022, it's still about 20% below its pre-pandemic average.
In 2023, the Association of Writers of the American Society of Writers (WGA) and the Association of Screen Actors Associations Association of Television and Broadcasting Artists Federation (SAG-AFTRA) - a union representing Hollywood writers and performers - went on strike, demanding better working conditions and stronger protection conditions. This has resulted in the closure of some studios, while others have reduced staff.
In January this year, wildfires destroyed Hollywood's hometown of Los Angeles. Some of Southern California’s television and film productions were shot at the locations that were damaged or destroyed. Many actors also lost the popularity.
Many in the U.S. film and television industry gathered to bring production back to Hollywood, urging California lawmakers and state governor Gavin Newsom to develop measures such as increasing tax incentives to achieve this. The argument is that Hollywood is full of middle-class workers, gig workers and local businesses, hit by a decline in production.
Reuters reported in April in April.