From East of Eden to Minecraft: The New Zealand locations taking over Hollywood

Here are all the Kiwi locations set to shine:

Ōamaru’s Victorian Precinct was transformed into early 20th-century California during filming for Netflix’s East of Eden. Photo / Supplied

East of Eden

Historic New Zealand locations proved the perfect backdrop for Netflix’s adaptation of the 1952 Steinbeck classic East of Eden, starring Florence Pugh.

Production teams took over Ōamaru’s Victorian Precinct for two weeks in January this year for filming.

The streaming giant used the area as a stand-in for 20th-century Salinas Valley, California, with Tyne St, Harbour District and the Criterion Hotel featured.

Further south in Dunedin, filming took place in the grand entrance to the 1937 former Chief Post Office Building on Princess St; Queens Gardens and the Dunedin Railway Station were spotted in episode two.

For the farm and valley scenes, eagle-eyed viewers could identify Maniototo in Central Otago, alongside Hawkdun Foothills, which were used as the Trask family farm and the Hills Creek area.

In Auckland, Cheltenham and Devonport were used to mimic the Salinas avenues, with residents on Oxford Terrace and Tainui Rd being told large sections of their roads would be temporarily covered in gravel during filming.

The crew were spotted filming across the South Island, with Glenorchy, Kinloch and Milford Sound playing a starring role. Photo / Paramount Pictures

Heart of the Beast

Oscar-winner Brad Pitt’s hit survival film, featuring Kiwi dog Uber as co-star Odin, saw the South Island shine on the big screen.

Queenstown and Queenstown Hill and their rugged terrain were used for military flashback sequences, while Glenorchy, Paradise and Kinloch were key outdoor wilderness settings, along with areas around the Dart River.

Lake Wakatipu and Lake Sylvan featured in lakeside scenes and campsite set-ups, and Mt Aspiring National Park, Mt Earnslaw and Earnslaw Burn were used as dramatic alpine ridges and remote helicopter drop-offs.

Milford Sound and Lake Gunn were also featured, showing rugged terrain and were included in the film’s pivotal plane crash scene.

Other areas they filmed in down south included Chinaman’s Bluff, Invincible Snowfields, Routeburn River and Valley, Poutini’s Gorge and the Arahura River.

The South Island was used to create the film’s giant wheat fields and rolling hills. Photo / Sony

Klara and the Sun

Auckland’s CBD, Wānaka and Central Otago all feature in Taika Waititi’s film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian novel.

A significant portion of the outdoor and landscape scenes were shot in the lush plains and rural areas around Wānaka and Queenstown. The home of key characters Josie and Chrissy was constructed in Wānaka, with production designer Ra Vincent building an orange-and-green house set in the middle of a wheat field on top of a hill.

Waititi noted that the open environments captured a distinct, quiet and character-driven look.

“That sets us up for some amazing, glorious sunshine and open spaces when Klara arrives at the house, which we built in Wānaka,” he said.

Production said many key scenes were filmed elsewhere in the South Island’s rolling hills and in remote locations. The team also used Silverlight Studios in Wānaka for interior scenes.

Auckland city’s High St and Chancery St were closed for filming in April 2024 and used for exteriors of The Friend Store in the film.

In production

Film crews descended on Thames as scenes for A Minecraft Movie Squared, the sequel to 2025’s A Minecraft Movie, were filmed in the town. Photo / Tom Eley

A Minecraft Movie Squared

Following the smash hit A Minecraft Movie, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, the franchise’s second instalment has recently wrapped filming in Aotearoa.

Production for A Minecraft Movie Squared was in Huntly in late April 2026, with the town once again being used to represent the fictional American town of Chuglass, Idaho (where Huntly Power Station serves as the Chuglass Potato Chips factory).

Thames, Grahamstown and Northland are also expected to feature in the film when it’s released in 2027.

The bulk of the movie, which is based on a video game, was shot in a West Auckland film studio, before the crew, including Kirsten Dunst, headed to Moab, Utah to finish filming.

A potboiler drama set in Queenstown will be Netflix’s first Kiwi commission. Photo / Netflix

Queenstown

Netflix confirmed its first original scripted drama series commissioned and filmed in New Zealand, Queenstown, was filming in the area.

While exact locations and schedules have not been publicly released, filming began in July and was expected to wrap in October.

Locals spotted the cast – which includes The Diplomat’s Rufus Sewell and Frances O’Connor (The Importance of Being Earnest) – the crew at Jack’s Point, and whispers online said some filming took place late at night at the Western-themed bar Cowboys.

Given the film’s plotline – a privileged family at war with itself – tourist hotspots and wineries in the area are all expected to feature.

Hobbiton was closed for filming of LOTR: The Hunt for Gollum. Photo / Supplied

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum

Production for The Hunt for Gollum started in Wellington in July, with Andy Serkis directing and reprising the role of Gollum and taking on directing the film.

Filming locations for the franchise’s latest instalment have remained strictly under wraps; however, Hobbiton in Matamata publicly confirmed its closure in July this year while filming took place.

The bulk of the scenes are expected to be shot at Street Studios in Wellington, with undisclosed landscapes across the country again to feature heavily in the story.

Nintendo video game The Legend of Zelda is being adapted into a live-action movie with filming to take place at Paradise near Glenorchy.

The Legend of Zelda

Production for a film adaptation of the Nintendo video game began in November 2025. It’s believed Stone Street Studios in Wellington and Miramar production facilities have been used for the bulk of shooting.

But Paradise in Glenorchy had large-scale production activity documented around the time of filming, as did Poolburn Reservoir and dam in Central Otago.

New Zealand is The Evil Dead franchise’s “production heartland”. Photo / Matt Klitscher

Evil Dead Wrath

Horror film Evil Dead Wrath is said to have been shot entirely in Auckland, with specific on-location details for this 1972-set prequel still under wraps.

As well as filming in local studios, the production team utilised locations across the wider Auckland region to capture the atmospheric, isolated environment required for the seventh instalment of the franchise.