Business
Why movie production has moved out of the U.S. — and what a tariff could mean for Hollywood
The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2024
Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images
There was a time when Hollywood simply referred to a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles.
These days, “Hollywood” has come to represent the entire domestic entertainment business — and it’s at a crossroads.
Its namesake area is no longer the bustling production hub it once was, as studios have chased tax benefits and lower labor costs overseas. It’s more expensive than ever to make a movie or television series, especially after the pandemic and the writers and actors strikes which reshaped how creatives are paid in the new streaming economy.
Many in the industry have sought to rectify the movement of thousands of jobs to other domestic filming hubs — like Georgia, New York, Texas, New Mexico and North Carolina — and international locations including Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Australia and New Zealand.
In July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom increased the state’s total film and TV tax credit to $750 million, nearly doubling the previous cap, to try to encourage more productions to film in Los Angeles.
President Donald Trump put a spotlight on the issue again Monday when he reiterated tariff threats on films made outside of the United States.
“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby,'” he wrote in a post on social media, adding that he would impose a 100% tariff on “any and all movies that are made outside of the United States.”
Trump made similar comments in May. Then as now, it is unclear how he plans to implement these duties, who they would target and who would foot the potential bill. Actor Jon Voight, who Trump appointed as “special ambassador” to Hollywood, said tariffs would only be implemented in “certain limited circumstances,” and the administration would focus on developing federal tax incentives, revising the tax code, creating co-production treaties with other countries and offering subsidies for infrastructure.
As Trump revives his threats, there are still numerous unanswered questions about how the U.S. could put a tariff on movies — and whether the move would really help bring production back to Hollywood.
“Since movies aren’t goods, they’re services, it remains unclear how a tariff could be placed on a service, but should some logistical loophole be found and enforced, it’ll cause chaos within the entertainment industry,” said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, in a statement Monday. “Then the question becomes what’s next? Where’s the line between a movie and a limited time series? What about the ad industry that saves money by shooting commercials outside the US?”
The production of film and TV isn’t always simple. Some productions will shoot parts of a film internationally and pieces of it domestically. Would films be taxed based on the percentage of the film that was shot outside the U.S.? What would that mean for foreign films seeking release in the the country?
“What if the primary studio is in the U.S., but the film has to shoot on location, because the … story takes the … characters on a journey. Is there a threshold?” asked Alicia Reese, analyst at Wedbush. “There are just too many questions.”
Industry experts also worry about how the duties, if they are even enforceable, could affect relationships with other countries. Hollywood relies on international box office sales to recoup lofty film budgets. China has already limited the number of Hollywood-made movies it will showcases on screens. Other regions could retaliate and do the same.
“I strongly support bringing movie making back to California and the U.S.,” Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California said in a statement Monday. “Congress should pass a bipartisan globally-competitive federal film incentive to bring back production and jobs, rather than levy a tariff that could have unintended and damaging consequences.”
Dollars and cents
At the end of the day, Hollywood’s productions woes all come down to one thing — money.
Budgets are getting tighter. Streaming fundamentally changed the media landscape, fewer people are going to movie theaters and studios are no longer generating significant revenue from DVD sales. So studios have to grip their purse strings tighter or face the wrath of investors who are still trying to calculate what the dissolution of linear TV, and its lucrative ad revenue, means for media titans like Disney, Universal, Warner Bros. and Paramount.
Even before the pandemic and the dual labor strikes, Hollywood was filming movies and television in other parts of the U.S. and internationally.
In some cases, this was because the script dictated a specific international city or naturally occurring landscape to suit the story being told. It would have been difficult, for example, to film the Lord of the Rings franchise or “Game Of Thrones” entirely on the backlot of a Los Angeles studio.
The crux of the issue comes down to the sound stages.
Part of the exodus from Los Angeles is also the result of the development of domestic production hubs that offer better financial rewards, like tax credits and cash rebates, than what is available on the West Coast. Over the last two decades, 38 states have shelled out more than $25 billion in filming incentives, according to a report from The New York Times.
These incentives have allowed states like Georgia to develop infrastructure for big-budget productions and build out a skilled workforce of local crew members, craftsmen and technicians. Georgia offers these monetary perks as a way of not only creating jobs in production, but bolstering economic growth in the communities around those filming locations. Hotels, restaurants, lumber yards, vehicle rental companies and even gas stations get a bump from having projects produced locally.
International production hubs are the second piece of this puzzle. Sites outside the U.S. not only offer enticing film incentives, but also cheaper labor and even health care. In fact, Los Angeles ranked as the sixth-best location for filming according to a survey of studio executives published in January by ProdPro, a company that tracks production trends. Toronto, Canada; the U.K.; Vancouver, Canada; Central Europe and Australia all ranked higher than Los Angeles.
Canada, known as Hollywood North, has been the home of Hollywood film and television production for decades. Shows like “Riverdale,” “Suits,” “Supernatural,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Schitt’s Creek” and “The Handsmaid’s Tale” were all filmed just north of the border from Los Angeles. On the movie front, “Mean Girls,” “Twilight,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “American Psycho” and “Scream VI” are some of the titles that were shot in Canada.
Like Georgia, Canada offers an enticing tax credit for stateside studios, but has also has developed a top-notch workforce of industry talent in front of and behind the camera.
And competition abroad is heating up. More countries have bolstered their filming infrastructure, and increased their generous tax incentives. Many nations also have looser rules on what kinds of projects qualify for the financial benefits. New Zealand, the U.K., Ireland, Iceland, Australia, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic are all jockeying for productions — and they are taking share, according to data from ProdPro.
For example, Australia and New Zealand saw a 14% increase in the production of projects costing $40 million or more between 2022 and 2024. Meanwhile, the U.S. experienced a 26% decline.
“People are still going to have to film on location,” Wedbush’s Reese said, noting that the industry is not going to completely shift the kinds of stories being told to adhere to filming locations only available in the U.S. “There are plenty of pieces of that movie, or parts of that movie, that are filmed on a sound stage and that sound stage could just as easily exist in the U.S. as it could anywhere else.”
“And that’s where the question lies: how do we get the sound stages?” she continued.
Reese noted that Los Angeles has already made moves to encourage studios to use its existing infrastructure with Newsom’s new tax incentives.
“We need to create a better tax structure to encourage more productions, the base of the production, the sound stages, to be located in the U.S.,” she said.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of Fandango and NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of Fandango and CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.
Business
PPF, Post Office FD, SSY: Govt Keeps Interest Rates On Small Savings Schemes Unchanged For Q4 FY26
Last Updated:
PPF, NSC, SSY, KVP, Post Office Deposits: Check latest interest rates on small savings schemes for the period between January 1 to March 31 this year.
Small savings schemes rate update.
PPF, Post Office FD, SSY, NSC Interest Rates: The government on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, announced that the interest rates on small savings schemes, including PPF, SSY, NSC, and post office deposits, will remain unchanged for the fourth quarter of FY 2025-26 (from January 1, 2026, to March 31, 2026), according to a finance ministry notification.
“The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the fourth quarter of FY2025-26 starting from January 1, 2026, and ending on March 31st, 2026, shall remain unchanged from those notified for the third quarter (October 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025) of FY 2025-26″, the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, said in an official notification on December 31, 2025.
Latest Interest Rates On Small Savings Schemes
Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme Deposits: under the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme will continue to attract an interest rate of 8.2%.
Three-Year Term Post Office Deposit: The interest rate on a three-year term deposit remains at 7.1%.
Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Post Office Savings Deposit: The interest rates for Public Provident Fund (PPF) and post office savings deposit schemes will remain unchanged at 7.1% and 4%, respectively.
Kisan Vikas Patra: The interest rate on the Kisan Vikas Patra will be 7.5%, with investments maturing in 115 months.
National Savings Certificate (NSC): The National Savings Certificate (NSC) will attract an interest rate of 7.7% for the April-June 2025 period.
Monthly Income Scheme: The Monthly Income Scheme will earn an interest rate of 7.4% for investors.
The government last revised some schemes’ rates for the fourth quarter of 2023-24. Interest rates on small savings schemes are notified by the government every quarter.
The central government is mandated to review and set interest rates for small savings schemes every quarter. Interest rates on post office schemes are determined based on the methodology suggested by the Shyamala Gopinath Committee.
What Are Small Savings Schemes?
Small savings schemes are government-backed deposit schemes designed to promote savings among Indian citizens, especially those with low to moderate incomes. They are considered safe investments and are offered through post offices and select banks. Popular schemes include Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS), Time Deposits and Recurring Deposits, Interest rates on these schemes are reviewed quarterly by the government and are influenced by the yield trends in the secondary market for government securities.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google.
December 31, 2025, 20:02 IST
Read More
UK energy bills are set to fall by £138 by April – despite households expecting a rise on Thursday during the next bout of cold weather.
Experts at Cornwall Insight said they expect energy bills to fall by £138, or 8 per cent, to £1,620 a year when the cap is next updated in April due to government measures announced in the recent Budget.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said £150 would be cut from the average household bill from April by scrapping the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme introduced by the Tories in government.
Wholesale energy prices have also dropped in recent weeks, which is set to keep a lid on energy price hikes from April, according to Cornwall Insight.
But, before then, many households’ energy bills are to rise on New Year’s Day, just as a swathe of cold health alerts have been issued for large areas of the UK.
The 0.2 per cent increase to Ofgem’s energy price cap will equate to a rise of about 28p a month for the average household in England, Wales and Scotland remaining on a standard variable tariff.
This amounts to an average overall bill of £1,758 a year, up from the current £1,755.
Regulator Ofgem said Thursday’s increase in the cap, which was announced in November, was being driven by the funding of nuclear power projects and discounts to some households’ winter bills.
This included funding the government’s Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk – with an average of £1 added to each household’s energy bills per month for the duration of the £38 billion construction.
An increase to standing charges – the amount consumers pay per day to have energy supplied to their homes – was also largely due to costs linked to the government’s warm home discount scheme.
Around 2.7 million more low-income households, including 900,000 families with children, are eligible for the £150 discount this winter.
However, the regulator said the new price cap was £37 lower than a year ago when adjusted for inflation.
Ofgem’s price cap sets a maximum rate per unit and standing charge that customers can be billed when they are not on a fixed tariff.
It does not limit total bills because households still pay for the amount of energy they consume.
The price cap increase comes just as a yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued for parts of Scotland north of the central belt from 6am on New Year’s Day until midnight on January 2.
It comes as amber cold health alerts have been issued for the North East and North West of England, which are due to remain in place until noon on January 5, with temperatures expected to fall to 3-5C.
Yellow cold health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for London and the East, South East and South West of England, as well as the East and West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “It really is a case of every little doesn’t help as households spend a fifth winter in the energy bills crisis. Tiny movements in the price cap still hit hard for families choosing between heating and eating.
“People continue to live in cold, damp homes, where the risks go beyond discomfort and into real danger, including exposure to carbon monoxide. Younger adults, private renters and households with children are among those most at risk as people cut back on heating, delay repairs and try to block draughts just to stay warm.
“Meanwhile, the wider energy industry has made more than £125 billion in UK profits since 2020, including firms operating in a dying North Sea. This isn’t a crisis of scarcity, it’s a crisis of priorities. Ministers must move beyond short-term price cap tweaks and get serious about ending fuel poverty by investing in energy efficiency, reforming energy pricing, introducing a fair social tariff and fully funding the warm homes plan.”
Which? energy editor Emily Seymour said: “As we head into the coldest months of the year, many households will be concerned that the energy price cap will increase slightly in the new year.
“There are several deals on the market for lower than the price cap so now is a good time to shop around if you’re looking to fix. As a rule of thumb, we’d recommend looking for deals cheaper than the current price cap, not longer than 12 months and without significant exit fees.
“If you’re on a variable tariff, make sure to submit a meter reading to ensure you pay the cheaper rates for any energy used before the new price cap takes effect.”
.jpg?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "What the UK bought in 2025 – from bucket hats to Labubu toys")
Bucket hats, strawberries and cream sandwiches, and Greggs sausage rolls drenched in KFC gravy defined British consumer spending this year.
We explore the nation’s purchases, month by month.
January
An average temperature of 3C as well as Storm Eowyn bringing 100mph winds and a danger to life to the UK has consumers largely staying indoors. Spending on digital content and subscriptions increased 8.3 per cent year-on-year and growth in spending on takeaways hit a year-long high of 5.1 per cent, according to Barclays.
However, alongside this, online purchases of exercise equipment rise by 60 per cent on the month before, according to Adobe, while spending on supplements including multivitamin powders and pills increases by 26 per cent and sales of fruit and vegetables rise by 24 per cent.
February
More than a quarter of UK adults (27 per cent) plan to focus more on healthy eating as the warmer weather approaches. One in three (30 per cent) say they are paying closer attention to ingredient and nutrition labels and a fifth (22 per cent) have considered, or are already growing, their own fruit and vegetables at home.
This comes as 27 per cent say they are more likely to visit shops and restaurants that offer “healthier” options, increasing to 45 per cent of those aged 18-24. Sought-after alternatives include zero-sugar treats (33 per cent), organic or whole foods (29 per cent) and low or no alcohol drinks (24 per cent).
March
Easter eggs have gone up in price by as much as 50 per cent on last year while shrinking in size, according to Which? – the result of the price of chocolate rising by 16.5 per cent in a year.
Women experiencing perimenopause and menopause are spending an average £1,800 a year on products such as vitamins and smart watches to combat symptoms such as fatigue and hot flushes, a survey suggests.
Some 76 per cent of women are buying vitamins and minerals, 52 per cent have bought supplements and 40 per cent have spent money on hormone support to help manage symptoms, the poll for buy now, pay later service Clearpay found.
April
The so-called “awful April” price hikes combined with high energy costs see the average household facing an annual increase of £1,254 from essential bill rises, according to figures from comparison site Uswitch.
The third consecutive increase to Ofgem’s price cap sees the bill of a typical household paying by direct debit rise 6.4 per cent, an increase of £111 a year or £9.25 a month after it went up by 10 per cent in October and another 1.2 per cent rise in January.
This is 9.4 per cent or £159 higher than this time last year but £531 or 22 per cent lower than at the height of the energy crisis at the start of 2023.
May
The competition watchdog announces that British vets could face a temporary price cap over concerns that pet owners are being ripped off.
The Competition and Markets Authority is looking into the veterinary industry after 56,000 people raised concerns about the sector, including that they are overpaying for medicines and prescriptions and are not being given basic information such as price lists and prescription costs.
Heinz launches a new Fish & Chips Sauce in a rebranding of the classic condiment Tartare sauce.
The food giant urged consumers to think of its new sauce as “Tartare 2.0”, with the packaging describing the contents as “Tartare Sauce” and listing ingredients as including gherkins, dill, salt, parsley and mustard.
June
Consumers begin to grapple with what will become the UK’s hottest summer on record – complete with four heatwaves between June and August.
Waitrose ice cream sales rise by 10 per cent on the year before, while John Lewis reports sales of garden furniture are up 21 per cent on the previous June, while it sells one million of its basic Anyday handheld fans over the year.
The National Lottery sells 18,600 tickets a minute on June 6 at the peak of the record £208 million EuroMillions jackpot draws.
The run of EuroMillions draws lasting more than 10 weeks generates both the highest ever UK sales of more than £550 million and the biggest ever returns to good causes in the history of the game.
Marks & Spencer launches a dessert sandwich filled with strawberries and cream.
The £2.80 “game-changing” limited edition Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme Sandwich is filled with the fruit and light whipped cream cheese on fluffy sweetened bread.
July
Oasis’s long-awaited Live ‘25 reunion tour kicks off in Cardiff on July 4.
The tour sets off a boom in sales of bucket hats, with even John Lewis reporting sales are up 40 per cent in the first half of 2025 in comparison with the same period in 2024.
Tesco reports record fruit sales as consumers seek to stay hydrated amid high temperatures.
The UK’s biggest supermarket says it has seen overall demand for fruit soar by an “unprecedented” near 10 per cent over the month, with berries, stone fruit, kiwis, melons, watermelons, pineapples, grapes and bananas all hitting record volume growth.
The grocer said it had ordered extra supplies ahead of days of forecasted 30C temperatures to cope with expected demand.
August
Greggs and KFC team up to create the “culinary crossover of the century” in the form of a sausage roll drenched in gravy.
The high street food giants worked together for the first time to offer the Greggs sausage roll with KFC gravy, claiming it is the “mash-up the nation’s been craving” and “seriously flavoursome”.
September
The extended hot summer leads to sales of swimwear breaking records at John Lewis, up 18 per cent in September and 28 per cent in October on the previous year. The late summer also saw outdoor cooking kit sales continuing to soar by 42 per cent at the department store.
Fake Labubu dolls – tipped to be a best-selling toy this Christmas – are seized amid warnings they could pose a potentially fatal choking hazard for young children.
Later this month, the Intellectual Property Office says fake toys worth more than £3.5 million have been seized at the UK border already this year, with 75 per cent of them failing critical safety tests.
Of the 259,000 fake toys intercepted at the border, 90 per cent of them – or 236,000 items – were counterfeit Labubu dolls.
High street food chain Greggs announces it is to open its first pub within the Fenwick Newcastle department store, serving exclusive beers and a menu featuring its classic bakes and sausage rolls.
October
Charlie Bigham launches a range of supermarket ready meals costing up to £30 to appeal to consumers balking at the soaring price of dining out.
The entrepreneur’s new Brasserie range of beef wellington, salmon wellington, coq au vin, duck confit and venison bourguignon was motivated by the rising cost of eating in restaurants, the entrepreneur said.
Almost half of adults (48 per cent) in Great Britain have gambled in the last four weeks, according to an annual survey by the Gambling Commission.
The headline figure falls to 28 per cent when those who had only bought tickets for a lottery draw were excluded.
Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl goes on sale, in which she writes about her three alleged sexual encounters with the then Prince Andrew.
TGJones, formerly WHSmith, reports sales of the memoir increasing every day since its launch on October 21. The retailer said it was selling three times as many copies of the book as it predicted it would.
November
The Classic Bagel from London’s Papo’s Bagels is named Deliveroo’s most popular order among any of its worldwide operations, according to the firm.
Papo’s, an independent, family-run bagel kitchen, was the most ordered takeaway on Deliveroo this year with its Classic option, which combines smoked salmon, cream cheese, sliced red onion, tomatoes and capers.
Consumers learn fresh British-grown strawberries will be widely available to buy this Christmas after a firm extended the season to 12 months with new technology.
The Summer Berry Company, one of the UK’s leading fruit producers based near Chichester, is now growing British strawberries at a commercial scale all year round with the help of LED technology through the colder months.
The final of The Celebrity Traitors attracts 11.1 million viewers. John Lewis reports a run on wrist warmers after the show’s presenter Claudia Winkleman wears them throughout the series.
December
High street baker Greggs strikes again, launching its first range of Christmas cards which come with the gift of a sausage roll.
The range – called the Ultimate Secret Santa Surprise – includes a £3.95 card featuring heat-activated ink which, when warmed, reveals a code to redeem a free sausage roll or vegan sausage roll.
The cards come with the option to personalise some of the designs, such as by adding a loved one’s face to a sausage roll.
Consumers learn Christmas dinner will cost a few pence less than last year in some rare good news for household budgets.
A turkey and all the trimmings for four will cost an average £32.46 this year, slightly down on last year’s £32.57 – which was up 6.5 per cent on the year before, according to market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator, formerly Kantar.
Tesco announces it is giving away ‘wonky’ Christmas trees to help the nation embrace “the parts of Christmas that aren’t always perfect but are still just as wonderful”.
Vietnam to implement 7.2% minimum wage hike effective Jan 1, 2026
Buccaneers head coach blunt about Baker Mayfield’s play as team faces playoff elimination
Walton Goggins praises Macaulay Culkin’s ‘uniquely suited’ role in ‘Fallout’ season 2
-
Sports5 days agoBrooks Koepka should face penalty if he rejoins PGA Tour, golf pundit says
-
Business5 days agoGovt registers 144olive startups | The Express Tribune
-
Politics4 days agoThailand, Cambodia agree to ‘immediate’ ceasefire: joint statement
-
Entertainment1 week agoTimothée Chalamet in question for ‘Marty Supreme’ press tour attitude
-
Fashion1 week agoNew Balance Americas SVP Melissa Worth departs
-
Entertainment5 days agoSecond actor accuses Tyler Perry of sexual assault in new lawsuit
-
Tech1 week agoTop 10 telecoms stories of 2025 | Computer Weekly
-
Entertainment1 week ago“Call of Duty” co-creator Vince Zampella dies after crash on Los Angeles highway