Latest news with #MakingHollywoodGreatAgain
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Studio Chiefs Agree: California Needs a Better Plan to Keep Hollywood
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways It was never not going to come up. At the Milken Institute Global Conference, a panel of four film and TV executives (and one television writer) were asked about President Trump's foreign-film tariff plan, another potential foreign-diplomacy disaster in an effort to keep productions in the United States. The consensus answer from the group was a bit of a swerve. 'It's a big issue, obviously,' Ravi Ahuja, the Sony Pictures Entertainment president and CEO started things off. 'In terms of production leaving here, it's almost more a California issue, honestly, than a U.S. issue. So, while it's true a lot of production has left the United States, it's even worse for California, and there are a lot of people — including our companies — that are working on this with the state government and trying to come up with different bills that will help.' More from The Hollywood Reporter They want to help, but make no mistake — the economics matter. 'If the incentives are stronger in the United States — and they are in many states — we'll shoot here,' Ahuja continued. 'I think what's often forgotten in our business is the margins are pretty modest. Producers will tend to locate in the place that's efficient — so, the more we can make the U.S. efficient, the better.' Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, concurred. 'I think it is a big California issue, because the talent is here, the infrastructure is here,' Bloys said. 'But the issue becomes when you're trying to plan, because [the state tax incentives are] capped, you can't plan. You have to get into a lottery, and you're not sure if your show is going to get the tax break or not.' Bloys' job is almost exclusively oversight TV series, not films. It is currently unclear if Trump intends to impose a 100 percent tariff on all internationally-produced television shows as well as films. We can't even be certain Trump will try to see his latest tariff threat through — the day after Trump's tirade about Making Hollywood Great Again, the White House was already walking the idea back a bit. Ironically, it is also the 'uncertainty' of California's tax-credit system that makes it 'very difficult' to film there, Bloys said. Atlanta, Canada and others guarantee an incentive right up front; not Cali. 'If California would address that, that would make a big difference,' Bloys said. Mike Hopkins said it's a 'complicated' issue, and he agreed to it being a California-specific one. He hopes to see Governor Newsom push through a planned tax-incentive increase this summer — and to keep pushing that bar higher. Let's start by Making California Great Again. 'It's a great day when you can walk out of your office and walk down to the set and say 'hi' to your talent and see what's happening,' Hopkins, the head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios said. Pearlena Igbokwe, the chairman of Television Studios, NBC Entertainment and Peacock Scripted, agreed: 'That's the dream.' For the dream to be realized, the guarantees have to be there, Hopkins said. And they should be there, he argued. 'It's not that we're taking money and giving it to Tom Cruise or somebody,' he said, adding that stars will 'get their fee wherever they go.' 'It actually does drive the economy,' Hopkins said. As for the lone storyteller on the Storytelling, Strategy, and Innovation: Shaping the Future of Filmed Entertainment panel, The Diplomat creator and writer Deborah Cahn said she's happy to have her executives drop by set, as Hopkins and Igbokwe daydreamed. That didn't happen for her on season one, as The Diplomat primarily filmed in Paris and London — not for tax incentives, but because that's where the story took place. For season two, the show is in New York. It's no California in terms of studio-chief presence, but it's plenty accessible. 'The facilities here and the talent pool here is remains unmatched,' Cahn said. 'We've had great experiences overseas, (but) you still don't get the kind of designers, crews, craftspeople that you do here anywhere else. So this is always my first choice.' USA! USA! USA! 'But if you need Buckingham Palace, you got to go get it,' she said. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Business Insider
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Disney is building its first-ever Middle East theme park
The Walt Disney Company says it will open a seventh theme park resort in Abu Dhabi. Disney, which won't own the park but is licensing the operation to Miral, an immersive experiences company, announced the new destination on Wednesday. "As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting-edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement online. "Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati — an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment at this crossroads of the world that will bring to life our timeless characters and stories in many new ways and will become a source of joy and inspiration for the people of this vast region to enjoy for generations to come." A blog published on Disney's website said the destination would be located on Yas Island. Disney also reported its second-quarter finances on Wednesday. Ahead of the earnings call, analysts at Raymond James said that while Disney's travel and leisure experiences helped diversify the company "away from the tumultuous Media space into a secularly growing business," it also made Disney "more cyclical and macro sensitive." "As such, both the fears around tariffs and a possible recession, along with a slowdown in travel that has already begun, have dragged DIS stock down ~27% in ~6 weeks," wrote Raymond James analysts Ric Prentiss and Brent Penter. Here are the key numbers for the second quarter compared to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg: Earnings per share: $1.45 adjusted vs. $1.20 expected Revenue: $23.6 billion vs. $23.05 billion expected Entertainment: $10.68 billion vs. $10.48 billion expected Sports: $4.5 billion vs. $4.32 billion expected Experiences: $8.8 billion vs. $8.76 billion expected The earnings report came after President Donald Trump on Sunday called for a 100% tariff on foreign-made films. The announcement confused Hollywood. Industry insiders were concerned the tariffs could hurt the entertainment business, which is still recovering from labor strikes and spending cuts. In a Monday statement, the White House said the Trump administration is "exploring all options." "Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump's directive to safeguard our country's national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again," the statement said. Analysts from Raymond James also said that "Disney's streaming networks are relatively less exposed to international content," and that the company's "emphasis on animation (largely done domestically) further insulates Disney from potential film tariffs." However, the analysts also wrote that the idea of a film tariff poses "more questions than answers," including whether films partially shot or produced domestically would also face tariffs, and if it could be applied to libraries and movies already produced. During its first-quarter earnings call in February, Disney reported strong earnings, surpassing Wall Street expectations with adjusted earnings of $1.76 per share and $24.69 billion in revenue. Despite a slight dip in Disney+ subscribers in the first quarter, the entertainment division received a boost from box office hits like "Moana 2" and "Inside Out 2." In the experiences segment, Disney also saw revenue growth last quarter and has a $60 billion investment plan underway for its parks and experiences over the next 10 years.
New Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Trump's 100% tariff on foreign films threat: Why it's worrying to India, but not to China
Donald Trump has still not recovered from his bout of 'tariff'itis, if we can be allowed the liberty to term it so. The latest sign of the ailment was him calling foreign movies a "national security threat" and going on to puff up his favourite "I will be slapping a 100 per cent tariff on them" line. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump wrote, "The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," adding that other countries are offering "all sorts of incentives" to drive filmmakers and studios away from the US. "This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat," he further wrote, describing foreign films as "messaging and propaganda." He also added that he was authorising the Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative "to immediately begin the process" of imposing a 100 per cent tariff on films coming into the US which are "produced in Foreign Lands". On Monday, there were signs that White House might have begun to realise the Alice in Wonderland quality to the announcement. Might be the King did not mean Off with heads after all. "Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump's directive to safeguard our country's national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. But many were still left wondering what the announcement implied and how the filters might be applied. Billion-dollar question The biggest question looming before them -- what exactly counts as a foreign film in today's globalised world? Remember films these days rely very rarely on the resources of just one country. Big-budget movies backed even by American studios end up being filmed abroad with an international cast and crew. Take one such recent example, Wicked. One of the highest-grossing films in Hollywood, it was shot at Sky Studios Elstree in the United Kingdom. In the same way, Barbie was also shot in the UK, at Warner Brothers' studios. The production of Barbie added more than 80 million pounds to the UK economy and generated hundreds of jobs. The same studio also made Wonka. Many American films have also been either fully or partly shot in Australia, such as Fall Guy and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Australia offers many filming incentives, including a 30 per cent rebate under its location offset scheme. Similarly, New Zealand also provides similar tax benefits. The US gothic horror film Nosferatu was shot in Prague, Czech Republic. Other American films have also been made in Spain, Germany and New Zealand. Meanwhile, many of what Trump could consider to be "foreign films" also generate revenue for "the U.S.A". Many Indian films made over the past two decades have made use of Brooklyn Bridge, New York City and Miami beaches. Now, the question arises if these foreign films that generate revenue for the US are also guilty of "messaging and propaganda". Hurting Indian films The next big question is how much do foreign films rely on the US as a market? Shibasish Sarkar, president of the Producers Guild of India, told the Press Trust of India (PTI) on Monday that Indian films make over Rs 800 crore at the US box office every year. He predicted that "if this tariff is implemented, exhibitors will increase ticket prices and make it expensive for consumers because of which even footfalls will drop dramatically." Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri agreed. "I don't think anybody will watch them in theatres, especially when the films will be available on Netflix, Amazon, etc," he told PTI. The US is home to 5.4 million people of Indian origin, the largest Indian diaspora globally. But it's not just Indian films that perform well in the US. Paddington in Peru from the UK earned over USD 45 million there, while South Korean animation The King of Kings made USD 54.7 million in April, surpassing Parasite. However, unlike Parasite, The King of Kings is in English and features Hollywood actors like Oscar Isaac. One tariff that will not give China sleepless nights By contrast, Chinese films remain largely dependent on domestic audiences. Animated hit Ne Zha 2 grossed USD 1.9 billion, mostly in China, with over 99 per cent of its earnings from the mainland. Similarly, 2024 comedy Yolo earned just USD 2 million in the US despite being one of the year's top global hits. What Australia and New Zealand have to say Following Trump's threat, Australian Home Affairs Minister and Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, responded saying, "Nobody should be under any doubt that we will be standing up unequivocally for the rights of the Australian screen industry." New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that his government was awaiting further details on the tariffs. "We'll have to see the detail of what actually ultimately emerges. But we'll be obviously a great advocate, great champion of that sector and that industry," he said. Philippa Childs, the head of UK media and entertainment union Bectu, called on her government to protect its film industry adding that "These tariffs, coming after COVID and the recent slowdown, could deal a knock-out blow to an industry that is only just recovering", Childs said. Following the pattern of other Trump "threats", US media stocks fell on Monday following the announcement. Streaming giant Netflix saw its shares drop by 2.5 per cent in early trading, while Disney, Warner Brothers, and Comcast also recorded declines ranging from 0.7 to 1.7 per cent. With so much worry being unleashed, we must finally examine Trump's assumption that Hollywood is "dying". Is that for real? It is true that in recent years, Hollywood has faced a series of challenges, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, global box office revenues for Hollywood studios stood at around USD 30 billion, down 7 per cent from the previous year and still about 20 per cent below the pre-pandemic average, according to Gower Street Analytics. That same year, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA went on strike, demanding fairer contracts and protections against AI, which led to shutdowns and staff reductions across the industry. In early 2024, wildfires in Los Angeles damaged several filming locations and destroyed the homes of many actors. As the industry struggles with these setbacks, a push is under way to bring more productions back to California, with filmmakers and industry workers urging state lawmakers to boost tax incentives. Be that as it may, Trump's tariff threat may offer little relief to the industry, sparking instead fresh questions about what defines a "foreign" film in a world where cinema is inherently global. The US President may have framed the threat as protecting American interests, but it risks harming international collaborations and alienating key allies whose industries also support and enrich Hollywood. As the global film landscape continues to shift, such policies built on isolation may do little to revive a struggling industry - and instead only accelerate its decline.
Business Insider
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Hollywood's biggest winners and losers from Trump's potential movie tariffs
Hollywood is the latest industry to be brought into President Donald Trump's trade war. Many in the movie business were spooked when Trump said he planned to impose a 100% tariff on films produced in foreign countries. Trump said his goal was to stop Hollywood from "dying a very fast death." But while there are more questions than answers, industry insiders and analysts said they felt tariffs could wreak havoc on an entertainment business already struggling to come back from labor strikes and spending cuts. "It basically will hit the whole industry," NYU entertainment industry professor Paul Hardart said. Industry insiders said they feared tariffs could raise costs (and potentially sink revenues if other countries retaliate). But there also could be winners, depending on what the ultimate plan is. White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that "no final decisions on foreign film tariffs" had been made and that the administration was "exploring all options to deliver on President Trump's directive to safeguard our country's national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again." Here's a rundown of the potential winners and losers if tariffs come to the movie business. Potential winner: US film hubs Foreign countries have long lured productions with financial incentives. The five top destinations for filming were outside the US, including Vancouver and the UK, a survey of studio executives by production services firm ProdPro found. If Trump's tariffs steer films back to the US, it would benefit burgeoning hubs beyond LA and New York. Cities like Atlanta and New Orleans have built film industries through tax breaks and lower living costs. At least 18 states have started or expanded film tax incentives since 2021. Potential loser: Producers, directors, actors, and writers Although Trump's tariffs appear well-intended, many in Hollywood are afraid of them. "Tariffs risk triggering retaliation, inflating costs, and stalling productions — hurting the very professionals we aim to support," Producers United, an organization representing producers, said in a statement. The group instead advocated for a federal production rebate to counteract foreign tax incentives. Film producer Randy Greenberg wrote on LinkedIn that Trump's film tariff proposal would "have the opposite effect" of what it intends and "will kill the movie industry faster." Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne wrote in a note that Trump's proposed 100% tariff "would lead to fewer films, more expensive films, and lower earnings for all in the business." Potential winner: Below-the-line crew The clearest beneficiary from film tariffs would be those in LA who work in pre-production, production, and post-production, said Schuyler Moore, a partner at LA-based law firm Greenberg Glusker. Unlike actors and directors, many of these crew members can't easily join overseas productions. The same goes for those in food catering or makeup artists. More films made in LA would make them busier. "It's clearly a positive for the below-line crew," Moore said. "It's a hammer to everyone else." However, these workers might not be better off if film production plummets and there are fewer projects overall. Independent production firms like industry darlings A24 and Neon may be big losers from tariffs. Global outsourcing helped indie production companies that have less access to financing. Film financing is tenuous, so higher costs could mean fewer films getting made. It could also make it cost-prohibitive for indies to bring films like Neon's Best Picture-winning "Parasite," which came from South Korea, to US audiences. "If you're going to do something to squash the independent sector, this is what you would do," said Peter Marshall, a former Lionsgate film executive who's now a media consultant. Foreign TV networks with US exposure could be crushed if there are tariffs or quotas on films or shows, analyst Brian Wieser of Madison & Wall said. Sean Furst, an overseas-focused producer, said European players have been trying to reduce their reliance on the US entertainment market. If overseas production is penalized, US producers filming abroad could similarly give up on getting US distribution and look abroad. "Talk to anyone in Europe, and nobody is relying on a US commitment in a finance plan anymore," Furst said, adding that the knock-on effect of tariffs could be a shift to fewer productions with lower budgets. Hollywood has been slow to adopt AI and has mainly limited it to tasks like post-production, special effects, and dubbing. However, AI use could speed up as filmmakers look for ways to cut costs. This could mean expanding to generating video from text prompts. Potential loser: Global streamers The tariffs have put a spotlight on Netflix, which has the most output and the biggest global footprint of the US streamers. Netflix has been seen by some investors as recession-resistant after reaching utility-like status. We don't really know how the tariffs would be implemented. But Citi media analyst Jason Bazinet estimated that, in a worst-case scenario for Netflix, it could raise the streamer's costs by $3 billion a year and hit its earnings per share by 20%. He calculated this by assuming Netflix licenses 40% of its total content budget and produces half of the remaining 60% abroad. However, Bazinet added that Netflix could limit the impact by shifting production to the US, cutting down US access to foreign-made content on the service, and raising prices to cover higher production costs. Potential loser: Audiences Frank Albarella, a KPMG partner who studies media and telecom, said tariffs could "inadvertently force audiences to pay more for what could become a narrower creative landscape." Mike Proulx of research firm Forrester warned that if tariffs go through, there could be fewer films as production costs and the prices of movie tickets and streaming subscriptions soar. "Any way you slice it, this measure equates to consumer pain," Proulx said.
Axios
06-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Trump movie tariffs could hit U.S. film studios where it hurts the most
President Trump's threat to impose tariffs on film imports to the U.S. could risk retaliatory actions in international markets, where American film studios make the bulk of their box office revenue. Why it matters: Studios are already reeling from a weakened box office following the pandemic. Tariffs could send the industry into a tailspin. How it works: The U.S. is the top exporter of films globally by far, with export value running at three times imports, according to the Motion Picture Association (MPA). U.S. movie studios typically drive the bulk of global box office sales. The majority of their revenue tends to come from distribution outside of the U.S., which is why any sort of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. film exports would be disastrous for Hollywood. For example, the top-grossing movie globally last year, "Inside Out 2," was produced by U.S.-based entertainment giant Disney, but the bulk (61.6%) of its $1.7 billion in box office revenue was made abroad. Similarly, 56% of global ticket sales to Warner Bros. Pictures' "Barbie," the top-grossing film the year prior, came from international distribution. State of play: Most major studios and even some analysts are holding back commentary until the Trump administration offers more details around how a tariff on intellectual property (IP) would actually work. The White House has not offered much clarity, leaving the industry confused as to exactly which films qualify as "coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands," as Trump put it on Truth Social. There are no final decisions on film tariffs, but "the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump's directive to safeguard our country's national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Axios. Reality check: Studios are in a bind without more information. A tariff on production costs abroad would create a much different calculus for a studio to consider, versus a tariff on box office sales. The definition of production is also puzzling. Many Hollywood hits are shot, edited, or directed overseas, but only partially. Some are shot in the U.S., but rely on cheaper labor abroad for certain parts of editing, set design or costume manufacturing. The ambiguity also has implications for global streamers, like Netflix, that distribute local content from foreign countries to subscribers in the U.S. Some analysts have warned that studios may freeze overseas production, weakening the overall box office, until they have answers. Zoom out: Outside of the U.S., most movies are filmed in places like the U.K., Canada, and European countries that offer sizable tax incentives. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed to double the state's film and TV tax credit to lure production back. Others, such as actor Jon Voight, have pitched the Trump administration on a federal tax credit to keep production in the U.S. broadly. The big picture: In declaring the new policy, President Trump said the movie industry in America is "DYING a very fast death," but that's not entirely true.
