When it comes to the most popular filming locations in the biz, there’s one city that gets more screen time over others. If you guessed “the concrete jungle where dreams are made” as described so succinctly by Jay Z, you guessed correctly.
After combing through 20 years’ worth of data on the IMDb database, insurance comparison website GoCompare came up with lists of the most popular filming locations around the world.
With 3,630 films and TV shows shot along iconic destinations like Fifth Avenue and Central Park, Manhattan tops the category of “area” followed by Hollywood, California (3,262), and Brooklyn (2,608 times).
The city that’s most romanticized on the big and little screens? That distinction also goes to Manhattan which, according to IMDb, has served as the setting for the greatest number of romance films or TV series. Think rom-com classics like “Serendipity” “You’ve Got Mail” and the cult TV series that made Manhattan the show’s fifth character, “Sex and the City.”
Other genres that are popular in Manhattan include drama, action, biography, documentary, fantasy, musical and mystery.
With 231 movies under its belt, Central Park is the top filming location overall, with supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters like “The Devil’s Advocate,” “Superman Returns,” “Spider-Man 3” and “John Wick.”
Given the breadth of stories that come out of New York, it’s not surprising that the list of top 10 filming locations is dominated by the neighborhoods and boroughs of the city: After Central Park, the list is occupied by Greenwich Village, Astoria, Williamsburg, Coney Island, Times Square and Harlem.
With the 90th edition of the Oscars coming up March 4, here are some of the most popular filming locations catalogued on IMDb around the world:
Most popular areas:
1. Manhattan, NY
2. Hollywood, CA
3. Brooklyn, NY
4. London, UK
5. Queens, US
6. Downtown Los Angeles
7. Barcelona, Spain
8. Manchester, UK
9. Sydney, Australia
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Top 10 filming locations overall:
1. Central Park
2. Venice Beach
3. Greenwich Village
4. Astoria
5. Williamsburg
6. UCLA
7. Coney Island
8. Times Square
9. University of British Columbia (Canada)
10. Harlem
Top countries:
1. US
2. UK
3. Canada
4. Germany
5. France
6. Spain
7. Mexico
8. Australia
9. Italy
10. India