Netflix, Disney, and other media giants slide as Trump claims he’ll slap 100% tariff on foreign-made films
The president says the move will save the US film industry from a “very fast death.”
Shares of Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount dipped Monday morning after President Trump posted on Truth that he was imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad and imported into the US.
The White House framed the move as a drastic but necessary step to revive domestic production, which has increasingly shifted overseas to take advantage of foreign tax incentives. Even recent blockbusters like “Wicked” were filmed in the UK, not California.
The US remains the world’s largest film producer, followed by the UK and China, accoring to The-Numbers.com. But even in California, home of Hollywood, productions have steadily drifted abroad, lured by deeper tax breaks and lower costs. Industry groups have pressed Governor Gavin Newsom to step up local incentives. Last fall, the governor proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit program from the current $330 million annual allocation to $750 million annually.
The industry is already under pressure: Disney, which made up a quarter of domestic box office sales in 2024, has already had a tough start to the year. “Captain America: Brave New World” pulled in an impressive $414 million, but that’s still a far cry from Marvel’s billion-dollar highs. March’s “Snow White” live-action release only deepened the slump. Meanwhile, Netflix could be hit the hardest: last year, the No. 1 streaming company allocated over half of its $15.5 billion content budget (about $8 billion) toward international productions.
At the same time, other countries are stepping up. Governments from Europe to Australia have expanded credits and cash rebates to attract production and capture a greater share of the $248 billion that's projected to be spent globally on content this year. Experts say tariffs aren’t likely to stop that trend and if the goal is to bring production stateside, tax credits, not trade barriers, could be a more effective tool.
Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount are set to report earnings this week.