According to a report by the BBC, the movie industry is reeling after an unexpected intervention from US President Donald Trump. Writing on his Truth Social platform last Sunday, Trump announced plans to hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he attempts to stop Hollywood dying “a very fast death”.
The White House has since clarified that “no final decision” has been made and that they’re “exploring all options” for revitalising the US film industry. But Trump’s suggestion alone has sent shockwaves through the industry – from Hollywood to Hertfordshire – so what might all of this mean in practice?
In recent years, Hollywood has kept growing closer to the UK. In 2014, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was shot by Disney at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. The British Film Institute says 65% of UK production spend came from the five major US film studios and three US streaming giants – Netflix, Apple and Amazon. This amounted to £1.37bn ($1.71bn), a near 50% jump on 2023.
The reason is largely that it’s cheaper to make films in the UK. That’s thanks to generous tax incentives such as the Film Tax Relief, which offers a 25% tax rebate – as well as lower labour costs and centralised national funding for film. As British actor Brian Cox told Times Radio on Tuesday: “The reality is films go where they can afford.”
For Universal’s blockbuster Jurassic World: Dominion, these incentives delivered a reported £89.1m ($111.38m) in savings. In the US, tax incentives operate on a state level – and Hollywood has relatively poor tax breaks – not only compared with the UK, which can offer 10% more, but other states such as New York and Georgia, too.
Fixing that is no easy task. Trump has appointed Golden Globe Award-winning actor Jon Voight, 86, as a special ambassador to Hollywood, and met with him a day before dropping his light-on-detail proposal. But it’s not exactly clear how tariffs would solve the internal tax problem in the US.
A possible solution, raised by Voight, is a federal tax incentive to mirror the UK. The Wrap’s film reporter Jeremy Fuster tells the BBC it is “unlikely”, in the current highly-charged climate, that Republicans would “support a federal tax incentive that can easily be portrayed as a handout to ‘woke Hollywood'”.
And what would the impact be on moviegoers if the levy goes ahead? Fuster says costs, like any other tariffed good, would be passed onto audiences through ticket prices, premium on-demand increases or subscription rates.
Several films have been made in the UK in recent years. Warner Bros Leavesden studio in Hertfordshire, best known for producing the Harry Potter films, has been used as the set for numerous Hollywood blockbusters including Barbie, Mickey 17, Venom: The Last Dance and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
The nearby Sky Studios Elstree in Borehamwood was turned into the magical world of Oz in 2023 as it welcomed its first production, Wicked. Beyond Hertfordshire, cities such as Glasgow have long been used as a filming hub for Hollywood movies. The opening scene of Brad Pitt’s zombie thriller, World War Z, may look like Philadelphia, but the film was actually shot in George Square in the Scottish city.
In 2021, star-spangled banners, bunting and vintage shop fronts decorated the streets of Glasgow city centre for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The city was used for a parade scene which appears to capture 1960s New York as Apollo astronauts return home.
The latest Indiana Jones movie was also shot in Northern England with Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland being used in the opening scenes. The castle doubled up for 1944 war-torn Nazi Germany. Other scenes were shot along the North York Moors railway line in Grosmont, and the Leaderfoot Viaduct, over the River Tweed, near Melrose, in the Scottish Borders.
In 2022, The Batman used Glasgow Cathedral, the Necropolis and the Bridge of Sighs to create Gotham City, which is based on New York. Central Saint Martins art school in London was also used as a building in Gotham City, as was some parts of Liverpool.
Liverpool’s early 20th Century buildings has also made it a popular stand-in for New York’s older skyscrapers. Liverpool was transformed into 1920s New York for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which sees Eddie Redmayne search the city for his escaped magical beasts.
Disney’s recent live-action Snow White movie was almost entirely filmed in the UK, with Pinewood Studios used for many indoor scenes and sets. A quarry in the Lake District, a beach in Pembrokshire, Wales and a nature reserve in Burnham were all also used as shooting locations.
As the UK film industry continues to grow, it remains to be seen how Trump’s proposed tariffs will affect the industry. One thing is certain, however, the UK has become a popular destination for Hollywood filmmakers. Other recent Hollywood blockbusters that have seen the majority of their filming – known as principal photography – in the UK, include Jurassic World Rebirth (2025), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025), Back in Action (2025), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023).
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