Trump’s 100% Movie Tariff: Is This the End for Marvel & DC?

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On Sunday night, President Donald Trump revealed his intention to instate substantial taxes on the film industry, a move that might negatively impact comic book movie adaptations, especially. Trump made this announcement via his subscription-based social media platform, Truth Social, stating that his administration is initiating a 100% tax on films produced outside of the United States as a means to encourage studios to carry out more production within our borders. Given that many movies are currently filmed in various locations around the globe, and while domestic filming has been decreasing, this recent decline is primarily due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year. If these tariffs come into effect, they could potentially create significant problems for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DCU at crucial junctures for both franchises.

Trump advocated for tariffs on Hollywood by promoting unsubstantiated theories, suggesting that other nations intentionally relocate film production outside of the U.S., aiming to undermine our economy and influence movie content with “propaganda.” However, there’s no proof of this claim, and it appears more likely that studios are merely chasing the best deals, while filmmakers seek suitable locations for their narratives. Additionally, these productions often employ American workers in foreign locations, so they don’t result in job losses domestically.

Independent of the circumstances, Trump’s proposed tariffs would bring significant harm to U.S. film studios, since they all shoot in various parts of the world to some extent. This risk was immediately apparent to investors, as shares in major American entertainment companies dropped significantly on Monday morning, including Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Disney.

For enthusiasts of superheroes, the potential impacts on Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Disney are causing the most worry, since these corporations own DC Studios and Marvel Studios respectively. This year, Marvel is filming ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Spider-Man: New Dawn’ in the U.K., while DC also intends to shoot ‘Supergirl: Tomorrow’s Woman’ there as well.

Similar to several other proposed tariffs by Trump, the specifics here remain uncertain, leaving room for speculation about its potential impact on the film industry. Given this uncertainty, it’s reasonable to assume that distributors may be required to pay these tariffs. Such a requirement could potentially lead to their bankruptcy or force them to increase prices for studios. In turn, studios might find themselves unable to finance as many movie productions, which would result in fewer job opportunities on film sets across the United States.

There are ongoing legal challenges trying to limit Trump’s tariffs in different areas, leaving uncertainty about whether or when these increased taxes will be implemented. Given the 90-day suspension of Trump’s import tariffs, most movie enthusiasts do not anticipate this happening soon. At present, the situation remains the same for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe.

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2025-05-05 20:39