Lacklustre Sankranthi? Trump's 100% Movie Tariff Threatens Tollywood's US BO Gold
The tariff war coming to bite Telugu cinema is a pain point not many saw coming.
On September 29, US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 100% tariff on "any and all movies that are made outside of the United States". The announcement has shocked the Indian film industry, especially Tollywood.
If the policy measure is implemented successfully, US theaters could raise ticket prices by 50-100% for Indian films to offset the tariff. This will inevitably deter viewers from watching movies in theatres. This might shrink screenings from hundreds to dozens per film. The exhibitors in the US will prioritize untariffed Hollywood content, leaving big-ticket Indian releases high and dry.
Tollywood behemoths like They Call Him OG, Kalki 2898 AD, among other recent movies, benefited vastly from overseas demand. Big-ticket movies featuring superstars like Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, Allu Arjun and others rely heavily on overseas revenues/pre-release distribution deals. They will be hit hard by the tariff move.
There are films belonging to particular genres that depend more proportionally on diaspora markets. These are going to see their markets get shrunk. After the pandemic, small Telugu films have mostly failed in the US. Some exceptions like Little Hearts and Court: State vs. A Nobody are rare exceptions. It will be game over for non-star movies now.
The coming Sankranthi is going to witness a flurry of important releases. The Raja Saab, starring Chiranjeevi, will be released first. The horror-fantasy comedy expects to make as much as $7 million in North America. Chiranjeevi's Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu is another major release from Telugu for Sankranthi 2026. Films starring Ravi Teja and Naveen Polishetty are also in the race. Before these, Balakrishna's Akhanda 2 will head to theatres on December 5, 2025. These films will feel the pinch if Trump were to have his way. The tariff war coming to bite Telugu cinema is a pain point not many saw coming.
In recent days, NRIs in the US have increasingly complained about high ticket rates for Telugu movies particularly. They feel that distributors there overcharge them to cash in on their undying love for cinema. So, it is going to be all the worse now. It's likely that Telugu biggies will see an erosion of more than 50% of the audience base if the tariff move holds.
