Indian film industry jittery over Trump's tariff move
New Delhi : India's $30-billion media and entertainment industry was in for an unpleasant surprise on Monday morning as US President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside of his country before their release in the US, asking authorities to begin the process of imposing tariffs immediately.
The US film industry was 'dying a very fast death' due to the incentives that other countries offer American filmmakers, Trump posted on his account on Truth Social.
Some Indian filmmakers took to social media to express their concern over the implementation of 100% tariff, saying it will impact box office revenues of Indian films released in the US if the ticket prices double and footfalls decline. Industry experts peg Indian films revenue from the US at between ₹800 crore and ₹1,000 crore in a year.
'Trump's 100% tariff on movies is a disastrous move. If this absurdity prevails, India's struggling film industry will collapse…,' filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri posted on X.
In a Linkedin post, Vivek Lath, managing director at GoQuest Media Ventures, an independent distributor of entertainment content, said: 'This is not good. Came right after the single largest Media & Entertainment event in India.' He was referring to the recently concluded World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) held in Mumbai which aimed at promoting India as a global content hub.
'US accounts for roughly 5-7% of box office revenues for Indian movies. Already stressed US theatre owners will not be happy with this and if the rest of the world reciprocates, Hollywood will also lose a large share of its international revenues. Let's see how this plays out,' Lath added.
Independent media and entertainment (M&E) industry consultant Shrirang Nargund said it was too early to comment on the impact of Trump's move on India's M&E. Besides, Indian films' exposure in the US market is very limited. 'Of the total 1,600-1,800 films we make in India in a year, a minuscule percentage is released in the US. And of those very few like Baahubali, Chhaava or RRR do well. So, I do not see any major impact on our film business,' Nargund said.
Producer and film business expert Girish Johar said there was no clarity whether Trump's statement referred to film production or the exhibition business. 'My understanding is he was referring to 'production' of films outside as other countries offer incentives to shoot films. It may or may not affect ticket prices or the exhibition part of the business as that's an income for the cinema business. However, we should wait for the details,' Johar added.
To be sure, the Indian government offers several incentives to foreign filmmakers, facilitating a streamlined, one-stop application process. Feature films, animation, web shows and commercial TV shows shot in India are eligible for incentives amounting to 30% of the Qualifying Production Expenditure (QPE) incurred in India, provided the IP is owned by an entity outside India. The total incentives, however, are capped at roughly US$3.5 million per project.
During his address at WAVES in Mumbai on May 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited international investors and creators to embrace India as their content playground and explore the country's vast creative ecosystem.
According to the Ficci-EY report of March 2025 on the M&E sector, India's animation, VFX and post-production segment contracted 9% in 2024, impacted by domestic uncertainty and global demand challenges. The segment is projected to recover and grow at 13% up until 2027, the report said. However, now a lot will depend on Trump's fine print on the M&E sector policy.
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