Have you seen these Hollywood movies filmed in North Carolina?
North Carolina is no stranger to the big screen.
From a movie about a pitcher on one of our local minor league baseball teams to a Nicholas Sparks novel, the state played host to multiple films, ranging from box office blockbusters, iconic 90s horror, to cult-classic indie hits.
Here are 20 of the most famous movies filmed across the state.
Movies filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina
Iron Man 3
One of the biggest films shot in the coastal city, the film follows Tony Stark as he navigates his battle with PTSD following the events of the Avengers and The Mandarin, a new foe aiming to take everything from the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist.
Some of the locations used for filming included Wrightsville Beach, the Cape Fear River and Wilmington Port.
Empire Records
A cult classic starring Renee Zelwegger and Liv Tyler, the 90s coming-of-age movie tells the story of a group of young employees at a record store trying to save it from being absorbed into a chain store.
Many Wilmington locals may recognize the titular storefront as Rebellion, a popular restaurant and bar in downtown Wilmington.
Maximum Overdrive
“Maximum Overdrive,” The first directorial outing of writer and novelist Stephen King, follows the events after all machines, including arcade machines, become sentient when Earth crosses the tail of a comet, initiating a worldwide killing spree.
The movie was produced in and around Wilmington because North Carolina is a "right-to-work state", meaning the producers could hire non-union crews, cutting production costs.
Stuck in Love
This romantic comedy features a family (Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins) dealing with their romantic and familial relationship problems.
Some locations featured in the movie include different houses on Wrightsville Beach, the Wilmington Riverwalk, Wilmington Ice House, Betsy’s Crêpes, Old Books, and the Cotton Exchange.
The Conjuring
While the city is no stranger to horror films, one of the most famous is “The Conjuring.” The film follows a married couple and their five children who move into a house. Shortly after they move, they notice supernatural things that escalate.
Filmography happened in various churches in the city, including First Baptist Church and St. James Episcopal Church.
Weekend at Bernie’s
Another cult classic, the movie follows two friends who throw a party at their boss’ beach house. The only problem? Their boss is dead, and they need to play off that he’s alive.
The beach house in the movie is on a beach right behind Fort Fisher Aquarium. Filming also inside the mouth of the Cape Fear River and Southport.
Movies filmed in Southport
Safe Haven
Starring Julianne Hough as Katie Feldman and Josh Duhamel as Alex Wheatley, This movie follows Feldman after she moves to a small town on the North Carolina coast, determined to make a new life for herself. She takes a job as a waitress and keeps a low profile, but she is soon won over by the warmth and caring of the close-knit community, especially that of Wheatley, a widower and father of two.
While filming did take place in Louisiana, much of it happened in Southport. The location of Katie and Alex’s first date is at Ports of Call Bistro at 116 North How Street.
The Secret Life of Bees
After Lily’s maternal figure, Rosaleen, insults three racists in town, the two escape to Tiburon, South Carolina. Tiburon is home to an eccentric trio of Black beekeeping sisters and the secrets to Lily’s mother’s past.
While the movie takes place in South Carolina, filming happened in Southport and some of Wilmington. Lily’s house is on Moore Street in downtown Southport, and the Amuzu Theater is home to a pivotal scene in the movie.
A Walk to Remember
Starring Shane West and Mandy Moore, "A Walk To Remember" follows the rite of passage of a jaded, aimless high school senior who falls in love with a young woman he and his friends once scorned.
While filming took place in Wilmington, Southport mainstays Oliver’s, Trinity United Methodist Church and the Old Smithville Burying Ground all served as filming locations for the movie.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillipe, this movie follows four college friends when one realizes someone knows their secret: They left a man for dead after hitting him with their car.
Specific sites in the film featuring Southport include the Amuzu Theater, where a beauty pageant is held, the Old Yacht Basin and the Southport Fish Company. Julie's house is on Short Street just north of Southport Marina. The exterior shots of Julie’s college campus in Boston were filmed at Duke University.
Movies filmed in the Triangle
Bull Durham
Probably the most famous film in the state, Bull Durham follows a woman who has an affair with a minor league player every year. Things get complicated when she meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the veteran catcher assigned to him.
Patch Adams
Inspired by true events, Patch Adams is a doctor who doesn't look, act or think like other doctors. For Patch, humor is the best medicine, and he's willing to do just about anything to make his patients laugh, even if it means risking his career.
Production happened at three locations inside the US, including the grounds and building interiors of the University of North Carolina.
Main Street
Starring Colin Firth, Patricia Clarkson, Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Bloom, Main Street follows residents of a small Southern city when the arrival of a stranger with a controversial plan to save their decaying hometown changes their lives.
The small town it references is Durham, and filming was done entirely in the Bull City.
Movies filmed in western NC
The Hunger Games
The movie, based on a series of dystopian young-adult novels, follows Katniss Everdeen as she attempts to survive the games and free her district from tyrannical oppression.
Much of the arena where the movie takes place is in the mountains of North Carolina, including DuPont National Forest.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
The movie follows NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby’s fall from grace as he attempts to regain his mojo following stinging defeat at the hands of a new French driver on the racing circuit.
One of the pivotal race scenes at Texas Motor Speedway was filmed inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Filming also took place inside Rockingham Motor Speedway.
Dirty Dancing
In 1963, an innocent 17-year-old Baby vacations with her parents at a Catskill resort. One evening, she follows music down to the staff quarters. There, she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love.
Filming happened in Roanoke, Virginia, and Lake Lure, 45 minutes southeast of Asheville. Producers then edited the footage to make it seem like one location.
Forrest Gump
This films follows a man from Mobile, Ala. as he navigates his way through history from the 60s into the 90s, ranging from Vietnam, to Watergate and investing in Apple.
While the majority of the filming occurs outside of North Carolina, one particular shot is familiar to anyone driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. When Forrest is running from coast-to-coast, Gump is seen running up a bend on the Parkway as Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" plays in the background.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
In the fictional town of Ebbing, Mildred Hayes, played by Frances McDormand, battles with her community to dig deeper into her daughter’s violent death.
Sites from the film – including the Ebbing Police Department and Red Welby’s advertising company – are in Sylva. The “magical” deer (her name is Becca) that appears to Mildred lives at the WNC Nature Center in Asheville. And though the billboards no longer line North Fork Left Fork Road in Black Mountain, the scenic road is still worth the drive.
The Last of the Mohicans
The last members of a dying Native American tribe, the Mohicans -- Uncas, his father Chingachgook, and his adopted half-white brother Hawkeye -- live peacefully alongside British colonists. But when a traitorous scout kidnaps the daughters of a British colonel, Hawkeye and Uncas must rescue them in the crossfire of a gruesome military conflict in which they wanted no part: the French and Indian War.
Some of the most intense scenes of the 1992 adventure were filmed on and around Chimney Rock, a 315-foot-long jutting rock formation about 40 minutes east of Asheville.
The Green Mile
The movie follows 108-year-old Paul Edgecomb’s recounting of his time as a death row corrections officer with inmate John Coffey years earlier. The movie received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and starred Tom Hanks as Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as Coffey.
The gorgeous Flat Top Manor in Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock serves as the nursing home Edgecomb tells the story.
Hop off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 294 and explore the 3,600-acre grounds, where Southern Highland Craft Guild operates out of the main floor of the manor from April through November.
Top grossing films shot in North Carolina
Iron Man 3
- US box office: $409,013,994
- Filming locations in NC: Kenansville, Wilmington, Cary, Rose Hill, Currie, Oak Island and Wilmington International Airport
The Hunger Games
- US box office: $408,010,692
- Filming locations in NC: Brevard in Transylvania County, Shelby, Charlotte and Asheville
Forrest Gump
- US box office: $330,455,270
- Filming locations in NC: Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, Boone
Talladega Nights
- US box office: $148,213,377
- Filming locations in NC: Charlotte, Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord and the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham
The Conjuring
- US box office: $137,446,368
- Filming locations in NC: Airlie Gardens, Orton Plantation, and Fort Fisher State Historic Site
The Green Mile
- US box office: $136,801,374
- Filming locations in NC: Moses Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock
Last of the Mohicans
- US box office: $75,505,856
- Filming locations in NC: Biltmore Estate, DuPont National Recreational Forest, Hooker Falls, Chimney Rock and Lake James State Park
Safe Haven
- US box office: $71,349,120
- Filming locations in NC: Linn Cove Viaduct, Blue Ridge Parkway, Pleasant Oaks Plantation, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Southport/Fort Fisher Ferry Terminal and Ryan’s Port Market in Southport
Dirty Dancing
- US box office: $64,577,242
- Filming locations in NC: Lake Lure, Firefly Cove, Grove Park Inn in Asheville and Chimney Rock
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- US box office: $54,513,740
- Filming locations in NC: Sylva, Dillsboro, Black Mountain, Asheville and
Movies set in NC that weren't made in NC
Best of Enemies
Set at the tail end of the Civil Rights Movement and based on real life events, the movie follows civil rights activist Ann Atwater as she faces off against C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina over the issue of school integration.
While the movie follow actual historic events in the Bull City, none of the movie was filmed in Durham. Instead, audiences saw small-town Georgia – the Bartow County Courthouse, Ross’ Diner in Cartersville and the Macon-Bibb Government Center – as stand-ins for the Durham of the early 1970s.
Cold Mountain
This Civil War epic follows a Confederate deserter as he attempts to leave the battlefield and return to his lover, whom he met shortly before enlisting to fight.
While set in the town which the film is named after in the Blue Ridge Mountains, filming happened in Transylvania, Romania and not in North Carolina.
