Trump's Movie Tariff Would've Hit These Recent Huge U.S. Blockbusters: From ‘Avatar' To ‘Wicked'

Forbes

05-05-2025

President Donald Trump's threat of a 100% tariff on films produced outside of the United States—though vague in details—likely would have impacted many of this decade's highest-grossing American-made films, including the 'Avatar' franchise and 'Barbie,' both of which are among the many blockbusters that filmed in the United Kingdom, New Zealand or elsewhere.
Trump threatened a 100% tariff on films produced outside the U.S., stating Hollywood is "DYING." ... More (Photo by)
'Avatar: The Way of Water,' which hit theaters in 2022 and is the highest-grossing film of this decade so far with more than $2.3 billion in box office returns, was largely filmed in New Zealand thanks to government grants.
Though 'The Way of Water' avoided Trump's threat of steep tariffs on films produced outside the United States, there are three more 'Avatar' movies in the works, including one releasing later this year, that could be impacted if Trump follows through on his tariff threat.
Trump said in a Truth Social post Sunday night he would impose a 100% tariff on films produced abroad because the American movie industry is 'DYING a very fast death,' calling the loss of domestic film production to other countries a 'national security threat.'
The timeline for Trump's proposed tariff, and whether he has the authority to impose tariffs on films, remains unclear, and White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Associated Press on Monday no final decision has been made regarding the tariff.
Several upcoming 2025 films were shot abroad, though it's unclear whether films that are already completed would be subject to Trump's potential tariff. The next film in the 'Avatar' franchise, 'Avatar: Fire and Ash,' releases in December and was filmed in New Zealand. The next 'Mission Impossible' film, 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,' was produced by U.S.-based Skydance Media and filmed in the United Kingdom, Italy, Malta, South Africa and Norway. The upcoming live-action remake of the animated movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' was produced by U.S. company DreamWorks Animation and filmed in Northern Ireland. The upcoming Brad Pitt movie F1 was produced by U.S.-based Warner Bros. Pictures and Apple Original Films, and was filmed at various Formula 1 race tracks across the world, including in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Japan, Italy and Belgium, with additional filming locations in the United States.
Productions in Hollywood and elsewhere in the United States have declined in recent years, largely because of the pandemic, labor strikes and financial incentives offered by locations abroad. In 2024, research firm ProdPro found the number of film and television productions in the United States had declined 40% since 2022, while declining 20% globally. Some countries have passed tax breaks for films in recent years to attract productions, including the United Kingdom, which unveiled a 40% corporate tax relief for film productions in 2024, and an additional tax credit for independent films. Hungary also extended a 30% tax credit in October for an additional six years, while Denmark joined other Nordic countries in establishing a film tax incentive in November.
New Zealand film producer John Barnett told local outlet The Spinoff: 'Not unlike everything else Trump has done, it is totally lacking in logic,' stating much of the plan is unclear. 'What is Trump going to do if 'M3GAN' comes here and spends $200 million here? Is he going to charge them $200 million? And who's going to pay it?' Barnett said. 'This makes no sense,' an unnamed British producer told Variety, questioning whether the many blockbusters that shoot overseas would need to shoot in the United States now. An unnamed U.S. film company told Deadline the tariff would 'destroy the independent sector' because 'we won't be able to make movies for the same budgets, actors won't get paid the same fees and the list goes on.' Many Hollywood stocks fell Monday after Trump's announcement, including Netflix, whose stock fell 4%, costing the company $20 billion in market capitalization loss.
Trump announced in January he would appoint actors Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight as "special ambassadors' to bring film productions back to Hollywood. Bloomberg reported in April Voight had planned to present Trump with ideas to revive Hollywood productions, including tax credits, infrastructure investments and job training.
Netflix Suffers $20 Billion Loss As Trump Wields 100% Movie Tariffs (Forbes)