China has announced an immediate restriction on imports of Hollywood films in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to increase duties on Chinese goods. This decision could pose a serious challenge to the US film industry, which is already losing ground in the world’s second largest film market, Bloomberg reports.
China’s National Film Administration has stated that it will “take into account market conditions and audience preferences” and is already reducing the number of imported films from the US. This is Beijing’s official response to the tariff escalation, which is said to be “further reducing domestic demand for American films, which has been falling for years”.
“This is a demonstrative signal without any significant risk to China,” Chris Fenton, author of Feeding the Dragon, told Reuters. According to him, American films currently bring in only 5% of the total box office in China, and the state takes half of it in the form of taxes.
At the same time, Chinese audiences are increasingly choosing local films. For example, Ne Zha 2, this year’s animated hit, grossed $1.89 billion, breaking records and surpassing even Disney’s Inside Out 2. And Captain America: Brave New World, the most successful Hollywood release of 2025, earned only $413 million globally – less than a quarter of what the Chinese blockbuster grossed.
Since 2020, national films have consistently brought in about 80% of the total revenue of Chinese cinemas. There is only one foreign film in the top 20 highest-grossing films of all time in China: Avengers: Endgame.
Washington’s increase in duties to 125% on Chinese imports, along with a 90-day pause on other trading partners, has effectively triggered a new phase of the “silent trade war” between the US and China. And this time, cinema has become one of the arenas of confrontation.
