More expensive streamers and box office shocks threaten Hollywood

Hollywood is faced with an unprecedented crisis following Donald Trumpeconomic policies. There is a meaning in which the American cinema and television industries struggled long before Trump returned to the White House; Hollywood had been struck by a combination of the post-pandemic economy, the end of advanced streaming and the impact of several strikes.

According to a report by the Otis College of Art and Design, jobs in the entertainment sector in 2024 were 25% below their 2022 peak, while Hollywood was initially booming after the pandemic. Other production measures have also shown the impact; The number of days of shooting in the County of Los Angeles decreased by 42% over the same period.

All this means Hollywood is currently in a very vulnerable position. Inflation associated with Donald Trump’s economic policies causes even more problems, and there are also other problems; Trump administration prices pose major challenges. What will be the impact?

Production costs increase due to inflation and prices

Hollywood leaders had pinned their hopes about the idea that things would improve in 2025; A year ago, the maxim was “surviving up to 25”. Inflation had already had a significant impact in previous years, costs jumping almost 8% in 2022. This meant The costs associated with the workforce, transport and adjusted materials had all increased.

Inflation increases in America, which causes fears that production costs continue to increase at cooling rates. The prices are added to that; The prices on the cameras, the lighting and the sound equipment add costs for the studios, when there have already been disturbances affecting materials such as wood, paint materials and plywood. As THR report:

“Although no production department is spared by the weight of a growing trade war, the art service would be particularly affected given its dependence on raw materials. To build sets, crew members frequently use wood which could often come from Canada and Southeast Asia, plywood in Southeast Asia and China steel.”

Canada’s tender wood wood rates have remained in place since April, when the pricing rate increased from 14.54% to 34.45%. There is no way that this kind of dramatic change has no impact on production.

Trump intends to priced foreign films

In May 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he had authorized a 100% price on “All the films that enter our country that are produced in foreign lands.“This was challenged in court, with a temporary suspension granted and oral arguments for the appeal scheduled for July 31.

Trump maintains that this is necessary to save a dying Hollywood, but Most commentators believe that tax credits were the right mechanism to bring production to the United States As a writer, producer, director and financial, the most The guardian::

“The idea of providing a stick with a price is quite counterproductive because it will undoubtedly give birth to other territories making a similar protectionist movement and will ultimately lead to penalties to the consumer who ends up paying the price for the availability of materials on the streaming platforms.”

We have not yet seen the feared reprisalsAlthough Australia and New Zealand have both committed to protecting their own film industries. All this adds to uncertainty and instability, however, and this seems to have a paralyzing effect on Hollywood; There are too many unknowns.

“”I think the most likely consequence is not that more productions will be carried out outside America, or more productions would be carried out in America, but probably that less productions will be (made),“Scott Roxborough, head of the European office of THRsaid CNBC.

How the Trump economy affects the box office

All of this has a notable effect on the box office. There have been fewer successful versionswhile movies like Captain America: Brave New World And snow White have underperform. “”By putting aside these first quarters directly affected by COVID and its consequences, the industry box office from January to March in 2025 was the lowest since 1996,“The CEO of the AMC, Adam Aron, said Reuters.

Inflation means that consumers have less money to spend on films. In the meantime, There seems to be a gap between the type of versions of interested people and the Hollywood films; Christopher Nolan argued that OppenheimerSuccess has shown the dawn of a “Post-franchise world,” And Sinners“The success of the box office – even in 2025 – suggests that he could be right.

Even streaming is affected by inflation

We see streaming services regularly increase their prices, and this will continue to continue as costs increase. Netflix, for example, has already increased prices five times since 2020 (per 9meters.com).

In truth, the streaming model has always been problematic, and the sumptuous productions associated with streaming boom has long seemed imprudent; There is a reason why Disney turns away from the streamingWith Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm by prioritizing the big screen again rather than on Disney +TV shows. The problems are even more notable now.

Streaming prices are generally increasing at levels higher than inflation for some time now; The cost of a Disney + subscription without advertising has increased by 14.3% since its launch, with significant increases for Netflix, Video and Peacock. A recent survey of Hulu revealed that Consumers are more aware of price increases during high inflation period.

However, there is a silver lining to this particular cloud; The same revealed study Consumers were also reluctant to reduce televisionPerceiving them as better value than other entertainment alternatives. Only the holidays were considered more precious – which means that only 25% of those questioned provided for the possibility of reducing.

This means that streaming services can have something of an impact cushion (although theaters are more concerned). But it all depends on the extent and duration of the economic situation; Hollywood Hopefully instability will not last long.