Behind the Scenes: Budapest's Hollywood Legacy – Part 2
Budapest, often hailed as a "chameleon city," has continuously met the demands of global filmmakers, even inspiring legendary directors like Steven Spielberg.
Nov 12, 2024
Able to transform into any major European city, from London to Moscow, its versatility is unmatched. In this second installment, we explore the iconic Hollywood productions filmed in the Hungarian capital from the early 2000s onward.
Since the 1990s, Budapest has become a hub for international productions, thanks to low costs and generous tax incentives. Combined with its rich architectural diversity, the city has seamlessly embodied iconic European destinations. After exploring films made up until the early 2000s in part one, we now turn our focus to the cinematic achievements that followed.
The Rite (2011)
Anthony Hopkins brought his chilling portrayal of Father Lucas to Budapest in The Rite, a film where his character, possessed by a demon, curses in Hungarian, delivering phrases like "szerelmem, virágom, gyönyörűségem" ("my love, my flower, my beauty") with an eerie intensity. Though set in Rome, much of the movie was filmed in Budapest. The story, based on real events, follows a young priest (Colin O′Donoghue) learning exorcism techniques from Hopkins. The real-life exorcist, Father Gary Thomas, also spent time in Budapest consulting on the film’s supernatural scenes.
The Rite (2011)
The Martian (2015)
The Martian relied heavily on Budapest’s massive sound stages, where 20 intricate sets were built to recreate the interior scenes of NASA’s space missions and Martian habitats. These sets allowed for detailed scenes involving the Ares III crew, the Mars rover, and NASA’s Mission Control. Additionally, the Budapest Whale (Bálna) building doubled as NASA’s Johnson Space Center, providing a sleek, modern setting for key scenes. For the Martian landscape, the production team traveled to Wadi Rum, Jordan, blending Budapest’s advanced interior stages with the stark beauty of the desert.
The Martian (2015)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Atomic Blonde transformed Budapest into both East and West Berlin during the height of the Cold War, providing a gritty backdrop for the action-packed espionage thriller. Principal photography began in Hungary in November 2015, utilizing Budapest’s historical architecture to evoke the tension of divided Berlin. Iconic streets and buildings stood in for Cold War landmarks, with Budapest’s film-friendly infrastructure making it an ideal stand-in for the German capital. The production later moved to Berlin, but much of the film’s core was shot in Budapest.
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
The highly anticipated sequel to Blade Runner was largely filmed in Budapest, utilizing both Origo and Korda Studios. Ryan Gosling’s character, K, walks through the streets of downtown Budapest, with key exterior scenes shot at the intersection of Szalay and Honvéd utca. One memorable moment features K meeting the retired policeman Gaff (Edward James Olmos) at Adria Palace, a striking building on Szabadság tér. The palace, built between 1900 and 1902, has been used in other notable films like A Good Day to Die Hard and Atomic Blonde.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Red Sparrow (2018)
In Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Budapest takes center stage with its iconic landmarks. The film opens at the Opera House and features Heroes' Square, enhanced with CGI for a dramatic effect. Key scenes were shot at the luxurious Boscolo Budapest Hotel and New York Café, while other locations include Déli Railway Station and the historic Danubius Hotel Gellért. The American Embassy scene was filmed at Semmelweis University, and HalloBar, used in the movie, is an actual striptease bar, adding a touch of reality to the thriller.
Red Sparrow (2018)
Dune (2021)
Budapest created quite a stir when Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa were spotted in the city during the filming of Dune. Apart from the desert scenes, much of the movie was shot in various Hungarian locations. Chalamet returned to Budapest for the filming of Dune: Part Two (2023) and made headlines by renting out a local cinema for the cast to watch Top Gun: Maverick, reportedly paying just $2 per seat, adding a fun, down-to-earth touch to the production buzz.
Dune (2021)