Towns & cities

San Diego

seat of San Diego County, California, United States; second-largest city in California

United States · 32.7150, -117.1625

San Diego is recorded as a filming location for 118 productions. Wikidata records these shoots at town level: somewhere in San Diego, rather than at one identified spot. Wikipedia names it for 50 more.

10 productions were filmed at 26 places inside San Diego rather than at San Diego itself: listed below, each with the place it was shot.

“In preparation for filming, Yorktown was berthed at NAS North Island in San Diego to load all the aircraft, maintenance, and film crew prior to sailing to Hawaii.”

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) · Wikipedia

Open on the map → Wikipedia Source data

Movies and TV series filmed in San Diego

Citizen Kane 1941
Some Like It Hot 1959
Transformers 2007
The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997
The Aviator 2004
Apollo 13 1995
Top Gun 1986
Babel 2006
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009
Pearl Harbor 2001
Casino 1995
Bruce Almighty 2003
Gattaca 1997
True Lies 1994
The Hunt for Red October 1990
Almost Famous 2000
Demolition Man 1993
Traffic 2000
Green Lantern 2011
Sideways 2004
The Scorpion King 2002
Paranormal Activity 2007
Last Action Hero 1993
The Heirs 2013–
Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970
Battleship 2012
Lethal Weapon 4 1998
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 2004
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 1963
The Sum of All Fears 2002
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids 1989
Hot Shots! 1991
Deep Blue Sea 1999
Patriot Games 1992
Heartbreak Ridge 1986
Firefox 1982
The Last Boy Scout 1991
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues 2013
The Young Lions 1958
K-9 1989
“K-9 was filmed in and around the San Diego and San Fernando Valley areas of California from August to October 1988.” Wikipedia
Bring It On 2000
Stealth 2005
The Last Ship 2014–2018
The Cell 2000
Bandits 2001
Act of Valor 2012
“Scenes were shot in San Diego at Blue Foot Bar and in a house in the North Park area.” Wikipedia
On the Beach 1959
The Candidate 1972
The Grifters 1990
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home 1995
Airport '77 1977
Get the Gringo 2012
Wayne's World 2 1993
Role Models 2008
Ice Station Zebra 1968
The Tarnished Angels 1958
Blackfish 2013
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel 1951
The Spirit of St. Louis 1957

The 60 most widely covered are above. The other 58 filmed in San Diego:

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 1978
Hardcore 1979
MacArthur 1977
Mr. Jones 1993
Flirting with Disaster 1996
Freaky Friday 1976
Wake Island 1942
The Desert Rats 1953
Run Silent, Run Deep 1958
Damnation Alley 1977
The Stunt Man 1980
Antwone Fisher 2002
Species III 2004
The Rains Came 1939
In Harm's Way 1965
A Force of One 1979
Return of the Killer Tomatoes 1988
Navy SEALs 1990
Raise the Titanic 1980
Real Genius 1985
Almost Heroes 1998
Bread and Roses 2000
My Blue Heaven 1990
It's a Wonderful World 1939
Flight of the Intruder 1991
Top Dog 1995
Scavenger Hunt 1979
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? 2009
Tiger Shark 1932
Cannery Row 1982
Who'll Stop the Rain 1978
Borderline 1980
Like Father Like Son 1987
Never on Tuesday 1988
Love 2011
Dive Bomber 1941
The Fighting Seabees 1944
Till the End of Time 1946
Sailor Beware 1952
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. 1966
Texas Across the River 1966
The Big Mouth 1967
Tentacles 1977
8 Seconds 1994
Mr. Wrong 1996
Firestarter: Rekindled 2002–
Wing and a Prayer 1944
In God We Tru$t 1980
Task Force 1950
An American Romance 1944
The Buzzard's Shadow 1915
Only God Knows 2006
Skid Marks 2007
Hacksaw 2020
A Place for Annie 1994
Full Cycle: A World Odyssey 1994
Sunset Limousine 1983–
The Playground 2017

Filmed here, per Wikipedia

Productions whose English Wikipedia article names San Diego as somewhere it was shot, with no matching statement on Wikidata. Weaker evidence than the statements above, so it gets its own list, each production’s own page links the exact section the claim comes from.

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 2002
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017
Scarface 1983
“A second unit team headed by David Hans Dreyfuss shot for one day at Coronado Beach in San Diego, California.” Wikipedia
Me at the zoo 2005
One Battle After Another 2025
The Blue Lagoon 1980
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
“Preliminary production on the film officially started on May 30, 2018, in San Diego.” Wikipedia
Kingsman: The Golden Circle 2017
The Killing Fields 1984
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954
Battle: Los Angeles 2011
Veronica Mars 2004–
“Many of the series' scenes were filmed at Stu Segall Productions in San Diego, California.” Wikipedia
Paul 2011
Operation Petticoat 1959
By the Sea 1915
Sands of Iwo Jima 1949
Purple Hearts 2022
Rent 2005
Midway 1976
“Midway was shot at the Terminal Island Naval Base, Los Angeles, California, the U.S. Naval Station, Long Beach, California, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida and San Diego, California.” Wikipedia
Seven Days in May 1964
The Infiltrator 2016
Renegade 1992–
“The series was primarily filmed in San Diego, California, and surrounding suburbs.” Wikipedia
Deadliest Catch 2005–
“The third season, titled After the Catch III, aired in 2009 and was filmed at RTs Longboard Bar and Grill in San Diego with Cash Cab Ben Bailey hosting.” Wikipedia
El Norte 1983
Little Nikita 1988
Mayday 2026
The Monkees 1966–
“A pilot episode was shot in San Diego and Los Angeles on a shoestring budget — in many scenes, the Monkees wore their own clothes.” Wikipedia
Hart to Hart 1979–
Silk Stalkings 1991–
“Most episodes were shot in San Diego, California, while some were filmed in Scottsdale, Arizona.” Wikipedia
The Patchwork Girl of Oz 1914
“Much of the film was shot on the grounds of the Panama–California Exposition in San Diego.” Wikipedia
Pensacola: Wings of Gold 1997–
“Although set in Florida, it was largely filmed in San Diego particularly at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar).” Wikipedia
National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze 2003
“The three major locations in California used for filming were: Los Angeles, San Diego (including Balboa Park), and Castaic.” Wikipedia
Phantom 2013
Pitch 2016–
“The series was filmed in San Diego, California, and features the Padres, the club the protagonist plays for.” Wikipedia
Simon & Simon 1981–
“When CBS picked up the show, the characters' home was changed from Florida to San Diego, California, where the show was filmed for the first season.” Wikipedia
Blowback 2000
Fashion House 2006–
“While the show is set in Los Angeles, it was filmed at Stu Segall Productions in San Diego.” Wikipedia
Hell Divers 1931
Flight Command 1940
Loving Couples 1980
“The scenes in Mexico actually were shot at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California, and the hotel interiors were filmed at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.” Wikipedia
One West Waikiki 1994–
“Most of the series was filmed at Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head, but episodes were also filmed in San Diego, American Samoa, and New Zealand.” Wikipedia
The Devil and Max Devlin 1981
L.A. Heat 1997–
“Produced by PM Entertainment, L.A. Heat began filming 1996, in areas that included Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, San Diego, Long Beach and Hollywood; some footage of car chases, explosions, and the like were sourced from previous feature films PM Entertainment had produced.” Wikipedia
Tiger Cruise 2004
The Ex List 2008–
“The series was shot on location in the Ocean Beach and Coronado communities of San Diego, California, as well as along Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, California.” Wikipedia
My Husband's Wives 1924
“The film was shot at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.” Wikipedia
Riley 2023
“The film is inspired by Howard's experience as a student athlete and was filmed on location in San Diego, California.” Wikipedia
Resolution 2012
As Good as Dead 1995
“The film was shot in San Diego in about two weeks and a half.” Wikipedia
The Last Ride 2004

And 26 more, per Wikipedia:

Aquarium of the Dead 2021
The Mating Call 1928
Chubasco 1967
Night Train to Terror 1985
16-Love 2012
The Arrival 1991
Crowned and Dangerous 1997
Down in San Diego 1941
Frost: Portrait of a Vampire 2003
Bang Bang 2011
Eternity: The Movie 2014
The Samuel Project 2018
Mighty Oak 2020
We All Die Alone 2021
Continuance 2021
Kung Fu Ghost 2022
Everybody Dies by the End 2022
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence 2026
Thane of East County 2017
Daisy Belle 2018
The Evil Rises 2018
Deviant 2019
Libertyville 2021
The Wedding Hustler 2023
Sincerely Saul 2025
Red Light Teachers 2026

Movies and TV series filmed elsewhere in San Diego

10 productions shot at 26 places inside San Diego, each named beside it. Separate from the list above, which is what Wikidata records against San Diego itself.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture University of San Diego per Wikipedia 1979
A Few Good Men Marine Corps Air Station Miramar per Wikipedia 1992
Test Pilot San Diego International Airport per Wikipedia 1938
Here Comes the Navy Naval Base San Diego per Wikipedia 1934
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic San Diego Zoo per Wikipedia 2008
Hellcats of the Navy Naval Base San Diego per Wikipedia 1957
Battle Cry Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego per Wikipedia 1955
To the Shores of Tripoli Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego per Wikipedia 1942
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego per Wikipedia 1964–
The Jennie Project Balboa Park 2001

Set here, per Wikipedia

Games whose English Wikipedia article says they are set in San Diego, where Wikidata’s narrative-location statement stops at the country. Still a setting and not a shoot, and still a sentence rather than a statement: two steps from the strongest evidence on this atlas, and labelled at both.

Filming locations nearby

Frequently asked questions

What was filmed in San Diego?

204 productions are recorded as filmed in San Diego, 10 of them at places inside it, including Citizen Kane (1941), Some Like It Hot (1959) and Transformers (2007). 76 of the credits come from Wikipedia articles rather than Wikidata statements and are labelled per Wikipedia.

Which is the best known production filmed in San Diego?

Citizen Kane (1941), covered by 84 Wikipedia language editions, which is how this atlas ranks fame.

Where is San Diego?

San Diego is in the United States. Its coordinates are 32.7150, -117.1625.

What other filming locations are near San Diego?

Westgate Hotel (under 1 km), Medico-Dental Building (under 1 km), Gaslamp Quarter (under 1 km), Santa Fe Depot (under 1 km) and 2 more, all within 40 km and listed on this page with photographs.

Where does this information come from?

Filming location statements on Wikidata, joined to the place's coordinates and Wikipedia article, plus places named in Wikipedia articles, which are labelled per Wikipedia wherever they appear. The photograph is from Wikimedia Commons, by Boatguy619, CC BY-SA 4.0.