After President Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan pivoted from a large scale implementation on practically every country in the world this week to a targeted further increase on imports from China, the China Film Administration has said it will curtail the amount of U.S. film imports that are shown in Chinese theaters.
In a statement given today, the CFA said it will “moderately reduce” the number of U.S. films it brings into China, describing Trump’s sudden decision this week to further increase tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% as impositions that “will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience’s favorability towards American films.” While the decision is far from the complete ban that had been rumored this week, it still marks a significant response to the burgeoning trade war between the U.S. and China, alongside a tariff of 84% on American goods announced this morning.
While China has become a significant market for U.S. films in their international releases, American-made films make up a much smaller portion of the Chinese box office, in part due to a heavily reduced distribution. Under prior trade agreements, China has only distributed up to 34 foreign-made films a year, giving international studios 25% of box office earnings.
Although U.S. studios have frequently vied for tentpole releases to take up those 34 slots, Chinese interest in U.S. films has significantly decreased in recent years. The Verge reports that in 2024 U.S.-made films made up just 3.5% of the annual box office in China, but that’s still approximately $585 million. Although the CFA has yet to confirm the extent of the reductions, it’s already going to make a very small list even smaller.
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