Many big franchise movies take place in New York City, including Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, and Men In Black. New York has even become synonymous with these movies, so if a franchise wants an exciting scenery change, what better place to bring them than the greatest city in the world.
New York City is a great place to set a sequel because it's an overwhelming place that naturally lends itself to being a great fish-out-of-water story location for the characters who find themselves there. Bringing a movie sequel to New York raises the stakes, and it has the power to take the story and place it in a grand setting where the backdrop becomes another character.
The Fate Of The Furious
The original Fast and Furious film was a gritty L.A. street racing movie. The setting would change several times, first to Miami and then Tokyo, before the entire franchise became a globe-hopping adventure.
The eighth installment would finally bring audiences to New York City. While the film has shots of Times Square, Bryant Park, and Pier 40, none of them include the principal cast, which most likely means the main actors were never on location. In fact, a memorable chase scene that includes cars falling from a parking garage was actually shot in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Bourne Ultimatum
After jet-setting all over the world in the first two Bourne films, Jason heads to New York, as indicated on the poster of him staring at the Manhattan skyline. In the film, Jason Bourne heads to New York to track down a new black ops program location.
After Bourne arrives, there is a spectacular car chase through Midtown Manhattan, culminating in a collision underneath the FDR over. The next installment, The Bourne Legacy, takes place concurrently with Ultimatum, and filming was primarily done in New York.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
The first the Universal Backlot), so the sequel brought the creatures to New York City.
However, outside of a few shots around Park Avenue and Chinatown, the movie takes place solely in a large skyscraper where the Gremlins get unleashed. As the movie progresses, the heroes must stop the Gremlins from exiting the building and taking over the city. An idea, which regrettably, might have made for a better film.
Friday The 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
The song "New York, New York" underscores the trailer to the slasher film franchise's eighth installment, as Jason gazes at the Manhattan skyline, promising audiences a New York gory good time. However, Jason Takes Manhattan could more appropriately be titled Jason Takes A Cruise, as 90 percent of the movie actually takes place aboard a boat on the way to Manhattan.
Jason doesn't reach New York until the film's climax, and only one scene was actually filmed in New York. Aside from a scene in Times Square, the very few NYC scenes were actually filmed in Vancouver, which is apparent, since all the cops have unmistakable Canadian accents.
Ted 2
While the first Ted took place in Boston, Mark Wahlberg's John arrive in New York.
While in New York, the characters hang out in Bryant Park near the famous library, as well as in Rockefeller Center. Finally, a huge fight scene takes place at the Jacob Javits Center during New York Comic-Con.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
In Anchorman 2, the action moves from San Diego to New York City, as Ron Burgundy and his co-anchor Veronica anchor the Manhattan-based Global News Network.
Anchorman filmed in many Midtown locations, like Fifth Avenue and the Rockefeller Center area. However, for the epic news anchor fight in the Flat Iron District, Ron runs inside Madison Square Park. Like many of the film's scenes, the battle was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta has doubled for New York in numerous films, most notably the MCU films set in NYC, because it's much cheaper to film there.
The Muppets Take Manhattan
After a cross-country road trip to Hollywood in The Muppet Movie and a London mystery in The Great Muppet Caper, the Muppets came to the Big Apple for the franchise's third installment. The action takes place when the Muppets come to New York to try to get a Broadway musical produced.
For the film, they mostly stuck to the landmarks, with a lot of filming done around Central Park, the Empire State Building, and of course, the Broadway area, where a memorable scene at the world-famous showbiz restaurant, Sardi's, takes place. Miss Piggy even gets to scare off some catcalling NYC construction workers.
Ocean's 8
After the first three movies took place in Las Vegas and Europe, the franchise decided to not only switch the cast's gender but also the location. Sandra Bullock plays the sister of George Clooney's Danny Ocean and she, along with Cate Blanchett and six others, plans to rob the Met Gala.
Filming-wise, Ocean's 8 has scenes that take place on Fifth Avenue, the Chelsea and Meatpacking districts, the retro TWA terminal at JFK airport, Central Park, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the historic East Village restaurant, Veselka.
Die Hard With A Vengeance
After critics and audiences felt Die Hard 2 was just Die Hard 1, rehashed with a different setting, producers decided to move away from staying in one location, like a building or an airport. Instead, now John McClane dashes around New York City trying to solve word puzzles, or else a terrorist will detonate a bomb.
The changes worked and the result was a gritty, rollercoaster ride that never lets up. The production filmed all over the city. Great action scenes take place around Wall Street, Central Park, the East Village, and even Yankee Stadium. As opposed to the action taking place in one space, New York's expansive, congested, traffic-filled, and richly populated landscape are a new challenge for McClane. In With A Vengeance, audiences finally get to see McClane as a gruff NYC cop.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
Like most of unbelievable events, in part 2, Kevin is left alone in one of the world's biggest cities.
Almost like a travelogue, Kevin explores the city, with scenes taking place in Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle, and The Plaza where he runs into the one-time owner and future one-time president. In a now tragically ominous shot, Kevin even checks out the views from the World Trade Center's top. Overall, famous New York filmmakers Martin Scorcese or Woody Allen probably haven't featured as much of the city as Home Alone 2 does.
