“This is like watching a train wreck in slow motion, made entirely in the US,” Shenoy said in a tweet.
In a response to a media report suggesting Indian movies would be impacted by this decision, the CEO said otherwise. “Not really – this stuff tends to be price insensitive. Bollywood will probably move to non-theatrical releases (online?) to counter this, though I’d love to see the economics of the US movie collection business. Earlier, non India rights were fought for by the Bombay mafia,” he added.
Not really – this stuff tends to be price insensitive. Bollywood will probably move to non-theatrical releases (online?) to counter this, though I’d love to see the economics of the US movie collection business. Earlier, non India rights were fought for by the Bombay mafia https://t.co/mbSokAXDgD
— Deepak Shenoy (@deepakshenoy) September 29, 2025
Trump’s tariff decision on foreign movies made outside the US came on Monday. The announcement had a sentimental impact on many US stocks including Warner Bros, Netflix, Cinemark Holdings and Marcus Corporation which fell up to 3.3% on Monday.
As for Indian stocks, PVR Inox and Prime Focus plunged up to 5% today, reacting to the announcement. Trump announced the measure in a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming U.S. movie-making is losing ground to international competition. “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing candy from a baby,” he wrote.The move comes as a fresh setback for global trade and is third in less than two weeks. Prior to this, Trump had announced a 100% tariff on branded and patented drugs imported to the US. He also issued an executive order that raised the annual H-1B visa application fee from $1,000 to $100,000 per applicant. The Trump administration later clarified that the fee was one time and only on new applications.
The step signals Trump’s willingness to extend protectionist trade policies into cultural industries, raising uncertainty for studios that depend heavily on international box-office revenue and cross-border co-productions.
Trump had first floated the idea of a movie tariff in May but offered very little details, leaving entertainment executives unsure whether it would apply to specific countries or all imports.
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