These Are The World’s Most Popular Filming Locations
If you’ve ever caught yourself dreaming of a trip to Iceland or Dubrovnik after bingeing a bunch of Game of Thrones, you’ll know that our favourite TV shows and movies can be an incredible source of travel inspiration.
Now, the folks at GoCompare have used data from IMDb to reveal the most popular filming locations from more than 340,000 films released over the last 20 years.
[related_articles]56209,57196[/related_articles]Those in the top spots – like New York City’s Central Park and London’s Trafalgar Square – won’t come as a surprise, while you’ll finally understand why others – like the University of British Columbia and Big Bear Lake – look so damn familiar.
The list also ranked countries by how many times they’ve been features in films, with the USA taking out the top spot with almost 140,000 appearances. The UK came in second with 25,768 features and Canada came in third on 21,088.
Scroll down to see if your favourite destinations made the top 20, then head on over to GoCompare to browse by location or genre.
#1 Central Park, New York City, USA
Appearances: 231
Notable Films: Men In Black II (2002), Superman Returns (2006), Spider-Man 3 (2007)
#2 Venice Beach, Los Angeles, USA
Appearances: 161
Notable Films: The Big Lebowski (1998), Million Dollar Baby (2004), He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
#3 Greenwich Village, New York City, USA
Appearances: 160
Notable Films: Deep Impact (1998), Suddenly 30 (2004), Julie and Julia (2009)
#4 Astoria, Queens, New York City
Appearances: 132
Notable Films: My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), The Bounty Hunter (2010), Arthur (2011)
#5 Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City
Appearances: 121
Notable Films: School of Rock (2003), Sherlock Holmes (2009), John Wick (2014)
#6 The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA
Appearances: 106
Notable Films: Erin Brockovich (2000), Legally Blonde (2001), Angels and Demons (2009)
#7 Coney Island, New York City, USA
Appearances: 102
Notable Films: Requiem for a Dream (2000), Two Weeks Notice (2002), The Other Guys (2010)
#8 Times Square, New York City, USA
Appearances: 99
Notable Films: The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Burn After Reading (2008), Birdman (2014)
#9 The University Of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Appearances: 91
Notable Films: The Butterfly Effect (2004), Fantastic Four (2005), She’s The Man (2006)
#10 Harlem, New York City, USA
Appearances: 80
Notable Films: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Get Him To The Greek (2010), Annie (2014)
#11 South Bank, London
Appearances: 72
Notable Films: About A Boy (2002), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), About Time (2013)
#12 Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City, USA
Appearances: 60
Notable Films: The Departed (2006), The Visitor (2010), The Bounty Hunter (2010)
#13 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, USA
Appearances: 52
Notable Films: Mulholland Drive (2001), Taken (2008), Iron Man 3 (2013)
#14 Canary Wharf, London, UK
Appearances: 50
Notable Films: Love Actually (2003), Batman Begins (2005), Skyfall (2012)
#15 Piccadilly Circus, London, UK
Appearances: 49
Notable Films: Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), The Dark Knight (2008), Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
#16 Trafalgar Square, London, UK
Appearances: 48
Notable Films: 28 Days Later (2002), Children of Men (2006), Wonder Woman (2017)
#17 Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, USA
Appearances: 44
Notable Films: Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Transformers (2007), La La Land (2016)
#18 The Old Royal Naval College, London, UK
Appearances: 43
Notable Films: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), The King’s Speech (2010), Les Miserables (2012)
#19 The East Village, New York City, USA
Appearances: 39
Notable Films: Rent (2005), Enchanted (2007), We Own The Night (2007)
#20 Big Bear Lake, California, USA
Appearances: 32
Notable Films: Doctor Dolittle (1998), Magnolia (1999), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
(Lead image: Nicolai Berntsen)
