Shares in major US streaming platforms and film studios fell sharply on Monday following President Trump’s surprise announcement that he plans to introduce 100% tariffs on films produced abroad, reigniting concerns over the disruptive reach of his trade policies.
Netflix shares slid 1.7%, Amazon was down 1.5%, and both Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global dropped more than 1% in early afternoon trading. The Nasdaq index, heavily weighted toward media and tech stocks, was off 0.6% as investors weighed the implications of a tariff that could drastically reshape the economics of Hollywood.
The president’s Truth Social post said he had ordered the Commerce Department and US Trade Representative to begin implementing the new levy, but provided no details on how it would be applied — including whether it would target streaming content, theatrical releases, or if the tariff would be calculated based on production costs or revenue.
A significant portion of US-produced entertainment is filmed abroad to take advantage of tax breaks, lower labour costs, and specialised post-production hubs. Netflix, in particular, relies heavily on an international production network to cater to its global subscriber base.
“The problem is that pretty much all the studios are moving tons of production overseas to reduce production costs,” said Barton Crockett, media analyst at Rosenblatt Securities. “Raising the cost to produce movies could lead studios to make less content.”
Film locations such as the UK, Canada and Australia — favoured for their incentives and skilled workforces — now face being penalised under Trump’s proposed plan. A survey by ProdPro found the top five preferred production locations for 2025–26 among studio executives were all outside the US.
Even this year’s Oscar-nominated films were largely produced overseas, underlining how deeply embedded international production has become in Hollywood’s business model.
Cinema operators also took a hit, with Cinemark down 2% and IMAX dropping 3%, as investors feared a knock-on effect on content supply and box office revenues.
“It doesn’t feel like something that will happen in the short term as everyone will be grappling to understand the whole process,” said Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight. “Inevitably, costs will be passed on to consumers.”
The UK’s media and production sector could be among the hardest hit. The Bectu union, which represents tens of thousands of UK-based film and TV freelancers, urged the government to take swift action to defend the country’s £6 billion screen sector, warning that jobs and investment could be at risk if productions are repatriated to the US under tariff pressure.
“Tens of thousands of freelance jobs are on the line,” Bectu said in a statement. “The UK is a vital part of the global film production supply chain and must be protected.”
Hollywood’s 2023 strikes already raised the cost of doing business, securing better pay and benefits for writers and actors. Trump’s proposed tariffs could now add another layer of financial pressure, just as studios attempt to recover from months of halted production.
While the administration has yet to confirm the timetable or precise scope of the movie tariff plan, analysts warn that even the threat of protectionist policy is enough to deter investment and disrupt studio planning cycles.
For a sector already grappling with streaming competition, cinema recovery, and shifting audience habits, Trump’s latest policy salvo may force difficult decisions — and a possible scaling back of content creation altogether.
