Trump’s film industry tariffs: Will game movie adaptations be sentenced or spared?

The Trump Administration’s tumultuous tariffs continue to evolve with the US president now considering tariffs of 100% on films made outside of the country.

The president stated on Truth Social that other countries’ incentives which draw US filmmakers away are a "concerted effort" and "national security threat".

"Therefore, I am authorising the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands," he posted.

Sonic, Mario, Pokémon: Condemned or spared?

The full scope of Trump’s potential movie tariffs has not yet been disclosed, but considering the increasing number of games being adapted into films, going forward this could have a knock-on effect on games companies’ revenues too.

2019’s Detective Pikachu, for example, was produced by The Pokémon Company and Toho Co - both Japanese - but also California-based Legendary Pictures. It was distributed by American film studio Warner Bros, and some filming did take place in Colorado, but other filming locations included England and Scotland.

Whether the level of American involvement would be deemed sufficient to avoid tariffs is unclear.

Similarly, the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise has been developed by Japanese IP holder Sega Sammy Group and American film producer Paramount. The first film’s principal photography took place in Canada, a hotspot for movies due to the country’s tax incentives.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie, meanwhile, helped bolster Nintendo’s IP-related revenue by 93.4% by the end of 2023, demonstrating the potential value of film adaptations for game makers. However it was animated in France by Illumination Studios Paris and naturally leverages another Japanese IP, suggesting it could have succumbed to Trump’s tariffs in cinemas if released just two years later.

On the other hand, Illumination is an American company and Californian Universal Pictures was a fellow producer.

Whether video game adaptations such as these, created through international partnerships which include the US, would be considered grounded enough in the country to avoid tariffs remains to be seen.

Making American films again

Even the recent blockbuster A Minecraft Movie, inspired by an IP owned by US-based Microsoft and produced by major Hollywood studios, saw its principal photography take place in Auckland, New Zealand.

The film debuted with immediate success, generating $301 million, double its production budget, in its first two days and is still earning in cinemas. Whether its primary filming location will prove reason enough to impose sudden tariffs, or whether its Hollywood backing could spare the film, again remains to be seen.

After all, Trump did specify: "We want movies made in America again."

Film tariffs are now expected to factor into trade negotiations between the US and UK.