By Kashvi Raj Singh,News18,Shrishti Negi

Copyright news18

President Donald Trump has announced the imposition of a 100 per cent tariff on all movies made outside the US and sent into the country for release. The United States is a significant market for Bollywood films, with a reported box office contribution of 35 to 40 per cent. News18 exclusively spoke to filmmaker Priyanka Ghose, who opines that the collections of “very big films” could potentially take a hit.
While it is unclear how this new tariff will be levied, it could affect ticket costs and discourage Bollywood films from being released in the US. Priyanka Ghose tells us, “We will have to wait and see whether this tariff will discourage moviegoers and cinemas in the USA. Barring some very big films, hopefully, this will not have a severe impact on overall box office numbers.”
The US has always been a lucrative market for Bollywood’s distributors, given the diaspora population across the nation. News18 previously reported that ticket prices and distribution costs “could double if the new rules are fully enforced”. According to Priyanka, producers and distributors need to assess “how important the US market is for them”.
The filmmaker says, “Currently, Bollywood films are shot in production-friendly places all around the world. Cultural exchange through films is invaluable, and we hope to see it encouraged, not restricted, in the years ahead.”
Donald Trump’s Announcement
Donald Trump took to Truth Social (a social media platform he owns) on Monday and posted, “Our movie-making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby’.
OTT Shift Inevitable?
If Trump’s new tariff comes into effect, Bollywood would have to change its course to afford a profitable US release. As such, a more aggressive push towards OTT is likely to be seen. It remains unclear whether Trump will levy tariffs only on theatrical releases or on streaming platform releases as well.
The Guardian, in a report published in May, said that it was not specified whether the tariffs would be based on production costs or box office revenue. It also said that it remained unclear whether productions split between the US and other countries would be exempt.
With this new announcement, the futures of highly anticipated films like Alia Bhatt’s Alpha and Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana have come under the spotlight.