Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Pasta Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
As of this morning, President Donald Trump has reiterated his intention to impose a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the United States. Trump previously announced this plan in May of this year, which prompted confusion among the entertainment industry and economists about how a tariff on movies would even work.
In May, Trump claimed that Hollywood was “dying a very fast death,“ and that international films were a “national security threat,” which brought “messaging and propaganda” into the U.S. Now, Trump has said in a statement on his social media platform Truth Social:
Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing “candy from a baby.” California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit. Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Coverage of this matter several months back questioned whether this meant a movie’s tariff would be 100% of the budget (presumably paid for by the studio) or ticket prices (paid for by moviegoers). Tariffs on traditional physical imports are paid for by the importer at customs, but they are then earned back through higher prices paid by consumers.
Movies, however, are more nebulous, as they are IP loaned out to cinemas and streamers. There is also the matter of movies that are technically American productions being filmed around the world, due to tax incentives that reduce production costs if a movie is filmed in the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand, as well as filmmakers seeking out specific locations for their movie’s desired setting.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.