Top 20 most-used film and TV locations revealed

The UK barely makes an appearance

Olivia Petter
Friday 16 February 2018 17:53 GMT
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The top 20 most frequently used movie locations have been revealed - and just one is outside the US or UK.

Central Park in New York City is officially the most popular set location in the film and TV world, appearing 231 times in movies such as Men in Black II, Superman Returns, and John Wick.

The majority of the locations are, as you'd probably expect, in the US - with Venice Beach, Los Angeles coming in second place, followed by Greenwich Village, Astoria and Williamsburg, featuring prominently.

Runner-up Venice Beach sets the backdrop for American Pie and Million Dollar Baby, while Williamsburg featured in School of Rock and American Gangster.

While many people will associate the big apple with the hit TV sitcom Friends, the majority of the show was actually filmed on fictional sets in LA, which were not included in the study.

Unsurprisingly, all five of the UK locations are in London, including Canary Wharf, used by 50 films, Piccadilly Circus, used by 49, and Trafalgar Square, which has been used in 48 films included in the data compiled by GoCompare after they analysed data from IMDb’s "filming locations" section.

Films shot in the British capital, such as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Love Actually, typically feature an array of the city’s most iconic landmarks, making the locations instantly recognisable to savvy Brits.

However, in comparison to the US, with 139,506 movies and TV shows filmed there in total, the UK trails behind with just 25,768.

Piccadilly Circus ranked 15th in the list and features in a number of British films including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Bridget Jones' Diary 

See the full list below.

1. Central Park, New York (The Devil's Advocate, Spiderman 3)

2. Venice Beach, California (The Big Lebowski, He's Just Not That Into You)

3. Greenwich Village, New York (13 Going On 30, Julie & Julia)

4. Astoria, New York (Arthur, Private Parts)

5. Williamsburg, New York (Don't Say A Word, Sherlock Holmes)

6. UCLA, California (Scream 2, Hancock)

7. Coney Island, New York (Brooklyn, The Other Guys)

8. Times Square, New York (The Devil Wears Prada, Burn After Reading)

9. University of British Columbia, Canada (Fifty Shades of Grey, She's The Man)

10. Harlem, New York (Get Him To The Greek, Limitless)

Coney Island plays the backdrop in films such as Brooklyn and Pi

11. South Bank, London (About A Boy, Austin Powers - Goldmember)

12. Greenpoint, New York (The Yards, The Visitor)

13. Hollywood Boulevard, California (Borat, Mulholland Drive)

14. Canary Wharf, London (Casino Royale, Batman Begins)

15. Piccadilly Circus, London (Bridget Jones' Diary, The Dark Knight)

16. Trafalgar Square, London (Children Of Men, 28 Days Later)

17. Griffith Observatory, California (La La Land, Transformers)

18. Old Royal Naval College, London (Les Misérables, The Iron Lady)

19. East Village, New York (Donnie Brasco, We Own The Night)

20. Big Bear Lake, California (City of Angels, Magnolia)

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