What impact might Trump’s Hollywood tariffs plan have?
Written by laserteam on May 5, 2025
(BBC) – US President Donald Trump has said he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations around the world.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he was authorising the US Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to start the process to impose the levy because America’s movie industry was dying “a very fast death”.
So what might this mean for both the US film industry and the global movie business, including the UK?
Announcing the new tariffs, Trump declared that Hollywood was “dying”. So is it?
It’s true that the industry has been through a really rough time in recent years.
The pandemic saw production close down and the impact is ongoing.
Hollywood studios spent $11.3 billion on productions in the second quarter of 2024, a 20% drop from the same period in 2022, as studios continued to cut costs in an attempt to recover from Covid losses.
Any shoots of recovery were then severely stifled by the 2023 actors and writers strikes.
Then the wildfires struck earlier this year.
And for several years now, more and more people – not just youngsters – have been turning to YouTube and other streaming platforms for content.
The US remains a major film production hub and according to Variety, 2025 has seen a rebound in box office numbers since last year, with overall domestic revenues up 15.8% on 2024 so far.
The latest Marvel superhero film, Thunderbolts*, topped the North American box office this weekend, raking in an estimated $76 million, marking a promising start to the summer season.
