From Oscar winners to blockbusters: What are the world’s most cinematic destinations?
Whereas New York and London prepared the ground, Madrid and Argentina surprisingly rank excessive as common filming places.
With the Oscars going down this weekend, the true scene-stealers are usually not simply the actors and administrators. Gorgeous landmarks all world wide additionally carry their film magic to life.
Within the lead-up to the 97th Academy Awards, new analysis from movie location consultants Giggster has revealed the all-time most filmed landmarks within the US, the UK and past.
From the California coast and downtown London to Sydney’s hovering heights and Rome’s historic Colosseum, these places have lured filmmakers for greater than a century, offering the backdrop for a few of cinema’s most unforgettable moments.
Removed from being simply well-known settings for the silver display screen, they’re additionally common vacationer locations in their very own proper, drawing guests desirous to expertise these iconic backdrops firsthand and stroll within the footsteps of film legends.
What locations have featured in probably the most movies?
Unsurprisingly, the world’s most filmed places are in Hollywood’s dwelling state.
California has appeared in additional than 380,000 motion pictures. Not all of them had been set in Hollywood, both. From indie darling ‘Sideways’, which highlights the Santa Barbara wine nation, to Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco-based thriller ‘Vertigo’, California has offered a backdrop to numerous Oscar-winning or shortlisted movies.
In each the US and the world, New York is available in at quantity two, with greater than 294,000 movies set within the Empire State. Most, together with seminal movies equivalent to ‘Taxi Driver’ and the unique ‘King Kong’, characteristic New York Metropolis itself – a full 273,569 of them, the truth is.
Outdoors the US – excluding India’s Bollywood, which didn’t seem within the analysis – the UK ranks quantity two for filming places. London tops the checklist with almost 77,500 motion pictures, greater than triple the 22,710 filmed in Manchester, the second hottest filming vacation spot within the UK.
Landmarks in Sydney, Paris and Italy take centre stage
The world’s most filmed landmark outdoors of the US and UK isn’t the Eiffel Tower or the Roman Colosseum. It’s Australia’s Sydney Opera Home.
The Sydney landmark has appeared in over 160 motion pictures. This UNESCO World Heritage Website has served as a backdrop in movies starting from romantic comedies to action-packed thrillers, together with ‘Anybody However You’ and ‘Pacific Rim: Rebellion’.
A detailed quantity two? That may be the Eiffel Tower, which has featured in 158 motion pictures. Synonymous with love and journey, this world icon will be seen in numerous romantic classics, together with ‘Midnight in Paris’ and ‘Amélie’.
Filmmakers are usually not solely captivated by the Eiffel Tower, although. The Louvre Museum (ranked third with 110 movies) and the Arc de Triomphe (tenth place with 73 movies) additional cement the French capital’s repute as a filmmaker favorite – a sentiment shared by the 50 million annual guests to the French capital.
However Italy boasts the best variety of most-filmed landmarks. The nation counts six places on the checklist, together with the Colosseum – immortalised in ‘Gladiator’ – the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the ruins of Pompeii. That makes it an ideal vacation spot for anybody seeking to maximise their set-jetting potential in a single journey.
The world’s most filmed locations
Giggster’s analysis options a number of movie location surprises. For instance, Madrid has appeared in probably the most film scenes, excluding American and British locations.
Maybe because of its mixture of historic structure and 300-plus sunny days a 12 months, the Spanish capital has appeared in almost 55,000 movies, together with ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ and ‘Spartacus’.
On a nationwide scale, Argentina takes the highest spot as probably the most filmed nation, that includes in additional than 112,000 film titles. From the rugged landscapes of Patagonia to the bustling streets of Buenos Aires, its range has attracted the producers of movies equivalent to ‘Evita’, the Eva Perón biopic, and ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, a film concerning the Dalai Lama starring Brad Pitt.
The place had been 2025’s Finest Image nominees filmed?
The frontrunner, romantic-comedy ‘Anora’, largely showcases Brooklyn, together with unmistakable places equivalent to Coney Island, however Las Vegas additionally options in a number of scenes.
‘The Brutalist’, starring Adrien Brody, was shot in Budapest and Tuscany.
Though Bob Dylan is most frequently related to New York, his biopic – ‘A Full Unknown’, starring Timothée Chalamet – was shot in neighbouring New Jersey.
‘Conclave’, a political thriller concerning the papal choice – and a well-liked darkish horse for Finest Image – was shot in Rome and contains a reproduction of the Sistine Chapel.
Planning your subsequent journey round your favorite film? Contemplate a practice journey taking in Europe’s most cinematic sights.
