Could Trump’s Tariffs Lead to China Banning Hollywood Films?

This past weekend in China, Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “A Minecraft Movie” conquered the box office and broke the hegemony of local blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” which grossed $2.11 billion after a 10-week reign. But it might be a short-lived triumph thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.

U.S. tariffs on China, currently at 54%, may go up to 104% as Trump’s response to the Middle Kingdom’s counter tariffs.

Now, China is reportedly considering a slate of retaliatory measures against the U.S. that could potentially devastate Hollywood‘s access to the world’s second-largest box office, according to posts by two influential Chinese social media figures, per Bloomberg.

The potential measures, which include a possible reduction or outright ban on American film imports, were shared Tuesday on Chinese social media by Liu Hong, a senior editor at state-run Xinhuanet, and separately by “Chairman Rabbit,” the online persona of Harvard-educated Ren Yi, grandson of former Guangdong party chief Ren Zhongyi.

Liu, who serves as deputy editor-in-chief of the official Xinhua News Agency’s website, posted the information just hours after China vowed to “fight to the end” in response to President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.

The identical posts from both influential accounts cited unnamed sources familiar with the situation and outlined several potential retaliatory actions being considered by Chinese authorities, including: “Reducing or completely banning the import of American films.”

Chinese authorities hold absolute control over film distribution in the territory. Foreign films can formally only be distributed in China through one of two centralized state-owned enterprises, and are imported as either one of a limited quota of 34 “revenue-share” films, for which the studio gets a cut of the box office, or on “flat fee” (aka “buy-out”) terms. The China rights are licensed for a lump sum by a local firm.

China’s box office had a dull 2024 collecting just $5.8 billion but this is projected to soar 30% to $7.6 billion in 2025. With a slate of anticipated Hollywood blockbusters this year, including Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” and “Superman,” the absence of marquee titles could dent this number.