Trump's 100% tariff on foreign films will test the resilience of the industry

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Bollywood’s box office Blue: Donald Trump’s 100% tariff on foreign films will place the resilience of the industry at the Lata Jha trial 3 min Read 30 Sept 2025, 05:28 pm IT, apart from the UK, is an important overseas market for Indian films, especially Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam Films. (https://ticketing.theconnplex.com/) Summary The US and the UK are together with about 50% of the overseas collections of Indian films, thanks to the widespread Indian Diaspora. On September 29, US President Donald Trump repeated his plan to set up 100% rates on all films made outside America – a move that could spell a disaster for Indian films, which rely on diaspora audiences for a significant part of their income. The US, along with the UK, is an important overseas market for the Indian film industry, especially for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayales films. Together, these two markets are about 50% of overseas collections, thanks to the widespread Indian diaspora. Mint explains what is expected for the film industry. What did Trump say? Trump has set up his threat to draw up a 100% tariff on all films not made in the US, claiming that US filmmaking loses the ground for international competition. “Our filmmaking business has been stolen by other countries from the United States, just like stealing candy from a baby,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday. In May, the US president said he would talk to Hollywood drivers about his plan and impose the levy process because America’s film industry was “dying” a very quick death “. The remarks come in the wake of a new wave of rates, including a 100% levy on brands or patented medicine imports, as well as 50% levies on kitchen and bathroom cabinets. How would the rates affect foreign films, including those from India? In general, the new US trade measures can significantly disrupt global media companies in India through the cost of rates on executed content and compliance burden on digital transfers. Industry experts warn that it could force businesses to fundamentally reconsider their content production and distribution strategies, which could possibly affect the profitability, the availability of content and the price of consumers. Although the exact impact remains unclear, such a move can lead to increased acquisition costs for Indian distributors and higher ticket prices. Which specific players are likely to be affected? All major film studios, such as Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions and Maddock films, as well as many others in the Hindi and Southern markets, depend on the US for a significant part of their earnings, given that ticket prices are higher abroad. Important players and international studios such as Netflix, Amazon Prime video, Warner Bros, and others who produce and export Indian originals or use Indian sellers for visual effects (VFX), animation, post-production or content formatting are confronted with a cost spiral, unless it relocates film production to the US. In addition to video content, podcasts, which are subject to nuanced tax treatments based on format and distribution channels, are also likely to be affected. How has the overseas box office been doing lately? Despite global conditions and the growing popularity of alternative entertainment formats, experts said the film business – both in India and abroad – was buzzing around the titles. That said, the theater -like habit has changed since the pandemic worldwide, powered by high ticket prices and a lack of compelling content. Over the past few months, with the exception of period drama Chhaava, and later Housefull 5 and Sally Zameen Par, not much high-profile-Hindi language content has created a stir in theaters abroad. In 2024, according to the annual Ficci-Ey-Media and Entertainment Report, Indian films made £ 2,000 of overseas markets. What can be the long -term implications? Given the unpredictability of the tariff situation, one can expect existing contracts to be revised and new contracts set on this new unpredictability. However, according to some experts, it may have a ripple effect on content production. Although rates can temporarily delay the export momentum of India, especially for diaspora-focused content, there may be a shift to co-production, distributed release models and improved legal and tax structure to remain competitive worldwide. Catch all the industry news, bank news and updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Donald Trump #Bollywood News #Tariff Hike #Mint-explainer #Movie Theater #Bollywood Films Read next story