China Targets Hollywood as Retaliation to US Imposed Tariffs

(The Post News)– China’s National Film Administration (NFA) announced it would “moderately reduce” the number of American films permitted in the country, citing President Donald Trump’s sharply increased tariffs on Chinese goods. The decision, posted on the agency’s website, frames the restrictions as a response to both political and market conditions. “We will follow market rules, respect the audience’s choices, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported,” the NFA wrote.

This comes just as the Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, up from the 125% announced a day earlier. At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump was asked about China’s retaliatory move targeting cultural exports. “I think I’ve heard of worse things,” he said, triggering laughter from those in the room.

Hollywood has leaned heavily on China over the last two decades, hoping to tap into its booming movie-going public, but those days may be fading fast. According to reports, American films now make up only around 5% of total box office revenue in China, a sharp drop from previous years. Moreover, that smaller piece of the pie is already less profitable since U.S. studios take home only about 25% of ticket sales in China, compared to roughly 50% elsewhere.

Even when U.S. films do get in, they’re no longer guaranteed hits. Pixar’s Inside Out 2, for example, was outperformed by Ne Zha 2, a homegrown animated sequel that broke records to become China’s top animated feature of all time. Since 2020, domestic films have regularly made up about 80% of China’s annual box office take, according to China Daily.

Some big-ticket Hollywood titles are still slated for release. Marvel’s Thunderbolts recently received approval for a late April debut. But others remain in limbo, including Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which could be Tom Cruise’s farewell in the series, and Superman, directed by James Gunn. Disney’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot is also among those whose fate is uncertain.

Despite the cutbacks, some companies seem unshaken. IMAX told The Wall Street Journal it expects no significant hit to its large-format lineup. “We continue to expect a strong year for Imax in China, coming off our highest-grossing first quarter ever in the country,” the company said in a statement.

Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, pointed out that only about 25% of U.S. wide releases are even shown in China these days. “That percentage has dropped steadily over time due to increasing competition from China’s local film production industry,” Shafer told reporters. For those that do make it in, the Chinese box office typically contributes less than 10% of global gross.