10 Wicked Awesome Movies Filmed in the Boston Area

Everyone loves a good movie, but it’s even more exciting when you know what city the movie was filmed in. Boston is a popular filmmaking destination for many reasons. It could be the architecture of the city, some of which dates back to the 1800s. The city’s location on the water provides plenty of opportunities for water shots. Boston has numerous iconic locations, like Beacon Hill and Fenway Park, that make the perfect backdrop. Around the corner in Downtown Boston, you also benefit from a modern, urban cityscape, giving producers and directors lots of opportunities.

There are numerous films that were filmed in Boston. Here are some of the best-known movies made in the Greater Boston area. These are the most impressive.

mtcurado / iStockphoto.com

Starring Boston's own Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner, "The Town" is quintessential Boston movie, with filming locations all over Beantown. The opening shot of the movie is of the 220-foot Bunker Hill monument in Charlestown, commemorating the Battle of Bunker Hill, the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution. From there, the bank robbery scene is a shot of the Cambridge Savings Bank in Harvard Square. If you'd like to eat like Doug (Ben Affleck) and Claire (Rebecca Hall) did in the movie, stop by AAA Three Diamond Neptune Oyster to enjoy seafood classics.

We would also be remiss to not mention the role that Fenway Park plays in this movie, the scene of the final heart-pounding action scene where Doug and Jem (Jeremy Renner) attempt their biggest heist of all, robbing Fenway Park.

AAA / Maria White

Starring Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne, this 2008 drama centers on a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students who use a card-counting system to win big in Vegas. Consider booking a tour of MIT to see some of the area.

Most of the campus scenes, including dorm room interiors, were filmed at Boston University (881 Commonwealth Ave.), as commercial shooting at MIT is generally not permitted. The Christian Science Plaza (210 Massachusetts Ave.), the location of the world headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also is seen in the movie.

Fun Fact: The plot is loosely based on the story of a real group of student gamblers known as the “MIT Blackjack Team.”

AAA / Maria White

Although Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon got top billing, you could say that Fenway Park (4 Jersey St.) is the “real” star of this 2005 Farrelly brothers romantic comedy. A Yankees supporter in actual life, Fallon plays a diehard member of “Red Sox Nation” in the movie, which, as you’d expect, includes shots of the Green Monster and other well-known facets of Boston’s venerable baseball stadium. Take a tour or go to a game and see this legendary ballpark for yourself.

Fun Fact: Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon—Red Sox teammates at the time—make cameo appearances, as does author Stephen King, a New England native and wicked huge Sox fan.

AAA / Maria White

Though set in New York City, this 2016 reboot starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig was primarily shot in Massachusetts. Boston’s Emmanuel College (400 Fenway) filled in as Upper Manhattan’s Columbia University and the head-banging concert scene was shot at the historic Wang Theatre (270 Tremont St.). The production team also gave a building on the corner of Harrison Avenue and Essex Street in Chinatown a Hollywood makeover, transforming it into the all-girl, apparition-fighting team’s headquarters.

Fun Fact: One of the original Ghostbusters, Dan Aykroyd, co-founded House of Blues, the first of which opened in Cambridge in 1992.

Wikimedia Commons / Daderot

Ben Affleck directed his baby bro, Casey, in this award-winning 2007 production. While investigating a child abduction, Casey’s character has drinks at South Boston dive Murphy’s Law (837 Summer St.). Critical scenes also were shot in nearby Cambridge at Mount Auburn Cemetery (580 Mount Auburn St.), a picturesque garden burial site founded in 1831.

Fun Fact: Boston-born Chris Evans auditioned for the lead, later describing the tryout as “a complete disaster.”

AAA / Maria White

We’d be remiss if we left out the film that catapulted Cambridge boys Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to superstardom. Since its 1997 release, many a thirsty movie fan has stopped in at L Street Tavern (658 E. 8th St.), a neighborhood bar seen in the motion picture. Drop by for a cold one, check out photos from the movie’s Oscar night party and take some pics of your own to post on Instagram. The Public Garden (Beacon and Arlington streets) shelters the bench used in the scene between Robin Williams’ and Damon’s characters; located on the west side of the park, it temporarily became a makeshift memorial to Williams after his death in 2014.

Fun Fact: Matt Damon wrote an early treatment of the screenplay while attending Harvard University.

Courtesy of Thirsty Scholar Pub

Geeky Jesse Eisenberg plays geeky Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in this 2010 film, an adaptation of Boston native Ben Mezrich’s book about the social networking website’s Cambridge roots. In the opening scene, Zuckerberg, then a student at Harvard University, gets dumped at cozy Somerville pub The Thirsty Scholar (70 Beacon St.). In addition to other area schools, Wheelock College (200 Riverway), in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, doubled as Harvard University.

Fun Fact: The making of the 1970 romance “Love Story” caused physical damage to the Harvard campus, eventually leading school officials to stop allowing on-location shoots at the famous Ivy League institution.

flickr / Alan Light

The storyline of this 2011 romantic comedy, which stars Kevin James, revolves around the lead zookeeper at Franklin Park Zoo (One Franklin Park Rd.). Opened in 1912, the enduring Boston attraction is home to more than 220 animal species and is a fun place to go with kids. The AAA Four Diamond-designated Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston (138 St. James Ave.) and Dorchester native Donnie Wahlberg also appear in the family-friendly movie, which, unfortunately, flopped at the box office.

Fun Fact: Another lighthearted Kevin James film, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” was shot at the Burlington Mall in eastern Massachusetts.

Thomas Kurmeier / Getty Images / CC BY-SA

“The Departed” tells the story of an undercover police officer and a mole within the police department. Filled with Irish gang intensity, the plot involves both the copy and the mole working to identify each other. This crime thriller, directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan, stars big names like Matt Damon, Vera Farmiga, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg, of Boston local fame. Much of the movie is shot in the Charlestown neighborhood, but the Quincy Shipyard and the Boston State House make appearances as well. You’ll also see the Neponset River Bridge, where a fight scene takes place.

Fun Fact: The movie depicts the Special Investigation Unit, where Billy (Leonardo DiCaprio) gets into an argument with the good cop Queenan (Martin Sheen) and the bad cop Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) in the rear of the Erich Lindemann Health Center, Hurley Building.

Doc Searls / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA

In this intense film, two U.S. marshals are sent into a mental health institution on a difficult island to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Dennis Lehane, this film is an intense, suspenseful movie that mixes guilt, grief and a strong sense of reality. It features Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley. Bostonians know that the Boston Harbor is filled with small islands and in this field, Peddocks Island takes center stage. You’ll notice small backdrops like Fort Andrews remains in the movie.

Fun Fact: Ashecliffe Hospital, where the interior of the hospital scenes takes place, was filmed at Medfield State Hospital in Medfield.

Join the over a million people who are AAA members and start planning your trip to Boston today. Dream up the perfect trip with our Trip Canvas research tool and use your membership to get the best discounts on hotels, rental cars and entertainment tickets.