With its lush, tropical rainforests and white sandy beaches, Hawaii makes the perfect stand-in for various movie locales. So throw a lei around your neck, tie a grass skirt around your waist and get ready for our list of movies you probably didn’t know were filmed in Hawaii.
The Hunger Games – Catching Fire (2013)
Katniss fights for her life in the arena, which she eventually destroys with a well-aimed shot of her arrow. The setting, which features water and palm trees, was shot in and around the island of Oahu.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Johnny Depp and his merry band of pirates make you believe they’re in the Caribbean, but principle photography was actually shot in Hawaii.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
This origin story, which was a prequel to the original ‘Planet of the Apes’ (1968) is set in San Francisco but the movie’s “African jungle scenes” were filmed around Oahu, Hawaii.
Hereafter (2010)
Matt Damon’s supernatural thriller, which was directed by Clint Eastwood, featured scenes at an outdoor marketplace in the South Pacific. These scenes were actually shot in Lahaina, on the island of Maui.
Predators (2010)
Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’s revamp of the film series took place on the predator’s home planet… which was really a tropical rainforest in Kolekole on the Big Island of Hawaii. The original ‘Predator’ from 1987 was shot in the jungles of Mexico.
Jurassic Park (1993)
The movie’s dinosaur wildlife park takes place on the fictional Isla Nublar, near Costa Rica, but the film was shot primarily on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The upcoming ‘Jurassic World’ (2015) was also filmed in Hawaii.
City of Angels (1998)
When a love-struck angel played by Nicolas Cage falls for Meg Ryan in Los Angeles -- the City of Angels -- and follows her home in Lake Tahoe, he’s really been in Oahu the entire time.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Most of the filming of Ben Stiller’s comedy starring Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. was done on the island of Kauai because of its visual similarity to Vietnam.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The famous opening sequence, in which Indiana Jones is chased by a giant boulder, is supposed to take place in the jungles of Peru. In actuality, this scene was filmed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
King Kong (1976)
Skull Island, the mythical home of the great ape, is featured in all the King Kong films. In the 1976 classic starring Jessica Lange, the island scenes were filmed on Honopu Beach in Kauai.
