Washington [US], October 20: "Star Wars: Starfighter" is filming in Britain, soundstages in Hungary are packed and post-production houses in Australia are humming, as the global film industry keeps rolling despite U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed threats to impose tariffs on movies made outside of the United States.
Trump has proposed levying a 100% tariff on films produced overseas to stem the loss of film jobs to production hubs around the world, reviving an idea he first broached in May.
The initial call for tariffs jolted the film world, and temporarily halted projects and international movie finance deals as producers evaluated the potential impact of the levy on each project's financial viability, two sources familiar with Hollywood motion-picture financing told Reuters.
This time around, the reaction has been more muted.
Trump initially called for a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country in early May, to stave off the "very fast death" of the American film industry as incentives lured filmmakers to production hubs around the world. The announcement - just weeks before the Cannes Film Festival - caused a panic.
Newly released data from industry researcher ProdPro reveals that while overall spending is down 15% from last year, amid a pullback in scripted television series and big-budget feature films, there is no evidence that Hollywood is abandoning global production hubs.
The U.S. remains the industry's largest production hub, accounting for $16.6 billion in spending over the last 12 months, according to ProdPro. However, Hollywood studios and streaming services spent even more - $24.3 billion - on film and television projects produced outside the U.S. over that same period, ProdPro reported, as they took advantage of tax credits, lower labor costs and world-class soundstages.
The United Kingdom has become a major beneficiary of the Hollywood exodus, attracting $8.7 billion in film and scripted TV spending over the past year, including major film productions like "Star Wars: Starfighter," the much-buzzed-about next entry in the "Star Wars" saga set for release in May 2027. Canada comes in a close second with $6.4 billion, according to ProdPro's most recent report on production trends.
Other regions - Australia, Ireland, Hungary and Spain - together accounted for nearly one-quarter of all production.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation
