Trump’s Tariff Tsunami Hits Tollywood

US President Donald Trump has been taking drastic decisions in every department ever since he assumed power in January this year. Already, various sectors have been affected by Trump’s decisions. Now, he has imposed 100% tariffs on all foreign movies, which will heavily affect Indian films.

As we all know, Indian films, especially the Telugu film industry, rely heavily on North America’s collections. Now, trade circles explain how this new 100% tariff may affect our Telugu films.

As of now, there is no tax imposed to screen any foreign film in the USA. But now, things would change in a big way. For example, if a distributor buys a Telugu movie by paying “x” amount to the producer, he has to pay the same “x” amount to the US government as a tariff. That means he has to pay “2x” in total for a single movie.

Due to this, US distributors will think twice before shelling out huge amounts to producers for distribution rights. They will think twice about buying mid-range films, doubting the return on investment. They would depend on high-budget, star-studded films, which would return the hefty distribution rights price and the government tariffs.

As many distributors are reportedly charging high prices in the US, there will be no chance to increase the ticket prices as well. If they do that, it would result in a drastic downfall in the footfall.

Even Telugu producers depend heavily on US distribution rights, especially for big-budget films. This new rule may bring down those distribution purchase prices, too. On the whole, it looks like Trump’s rule will make a big impact on Telugu cinema. As Trump stated that the rule will come into effect immediately, we hear that this week’s releases Single and Shubham will be affected. We have to see how these movies will do at the US box office if the rule gets implemented with immediate effect.