Trump tariff order on movies leaves film industry flummoxed

“How would you make ‘Saving Private Ryan’ in the U.S.? In Shreveport?” Garner said from Australia, where he is filming the action-drama ‘Runner.’ “Or a globe-trotting ‘Mission: Impossible?'”

On Monday, Trump told reporters he would meet with industry officials first to make sure they liked the idea. The White House said it had not made any final decisions, but noted that Hollywood film production had sharply declined from the previous year.

The primary union representing actors issued a supportive statement on Monday. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the union supports efforts to increase domestic movie, television and streaming production and adding jobs for American workers.

“We look forward to learning more about the specifics of the plan announced by the president and to advancing a dialogue to achieve our common goals,” Crabtree-Ireland said.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union representing more than 170,000 technicians and craftspeople, called for a balanced federal response that includes tax incentives to help bring jobs back.

Any trade policy “must do no harm to our Canadian members — nor the industry overall,” said International Alliance President Matthew D. Loeb.

IMPLEMENTATION CONFUSION

Shares of media companies slipped on Monday.

Streaming pioneer Netflix, which relies on global operations to produce content for international audiences, posted a 2% decline in its stock. Disney and Universal-owner Comcast edged lower. Stocks of theater operators such as Cinemark and IMAX were down 1.6% and 2%, respectively.

IMAX declined to comment, while others did not respond to requests for comment.

Entertainment attorney Stephen Weizenecker said producers, financiers and film offices were trying to figure out how tariffs would be implemented, but said it could lead to a notable shift in production back to the United States.

“If you get any sort of significant tariff, 10% or 20%, it takes away whatever production incentive there was for filming outside the United States,” said Weizenecker, who advises producers and financiers on production incentives.

However, traditional enforcement tools, like customs inspections at ports of entry, will not work for movies that are licensed, streamed or distributed on global platforms using a borderless cloud infrastructure, wrote TD Cowen media analyst Doug Creutz. The “risks to putting digital goods and services on the table in trade negotiations/wars are overwhelmingly tilted against the U.S.,” he noted.

Hollywood brings in most of its box office revenue from overseas. In 2024, about 70% of the roughly $30 billion in global ticket sales came from outside the United States and Canada, said Daniel Loria, senior vice president at The Boxoffice Company.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Harshita Mary Varghese and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Michael D Kahn in Prague and Muvija M in London; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Bill Berkrot and Richard Chang)