When this list first started, we were initially planning on ranking these movies from best to worst. After some careful consideration (and a ton of time wasted), we realized that there’s really no way to rank some of these classics higher than others. If you’re a film buff (or a Chicago buff), you probably already know a couple of these, but we’re willing to bet a few might take you by surprise as well.
And yes, we know the Transformers movies were filmed here, but so does everybody.
Home Alone
Because of Home Alone, we will forever picture MaCaulay Culkin as a child. And holy hell, it’s really hard to spell his name without looking it up.
Public Enemies
It’s pretty fitting that a movie about a notorious gangster (John Dillinger) would be filmed in Chicago. Dillinger was actually killed here too, so there’s quite a bit of history behind the choice. Johnny Depp does a tremendous job of portraying one of the Depression’s greatest criminals.
Batman Begins
Who doesn’t love the story behind everyone’s favorite caped crusader? Batman Begins tells the story of a young Bruce Wayne, a billionaire turned superhero. And what better city to portray the infamous Gotham than Chicago?
The Dark Knight
Yep, we’ve got the sequel too. This one was a tremendous hit at the box office, and it features an unparalleled portrayal of the Joker from Heath Ledger. If you haven’t seen this, park yourself on the couch and pop in the Blu-Ray.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
An instant classic. High schoolers everywhere have been trying to play hooky for years, and Ferris Bueller is no exception. Ferris is actually a student at Glenbrook North High School in suburban Northbrook.
Ocean’s Eleven & Twelve
When you think of Danny Ocean and his crew, you instantly think of Vegas. While it’s true that most of the filming took place in Sin City, a portion of the film took place on the streets of Chicago too.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
While there are actually mountains near the Griswolds’ home in the movie, they supposedly live in Chicago. Much of the filming was done on a set in California, but there are quite a few scenes from the Windy City that made the cut.
The Blues Brothers
In all honesty, this one probably doesn’t belong on the list at all. Everyone knows that the Blues Brothers was filmed in Chicago, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to make a list of Chicago movies and not include it. We’re dedicating this one to the one guy who’s just now reading this and realizing he’s been living under a rock for the past 35 years. Cheers, mate.
Space Jam
This one is so painfully obvious if you put a little bit of thought into it, but we bet you wouldn’t have guessed it. Michael Jordan was on the Bulls of course, and (next to His Airness) the United Center plays a pretty decent part in the movie.
Groundhog Day
This one was filmed here again, and again, and again, and again.
Lame jokes aside, Groundhog Day was primarily filmed in Woodstock, IL, Northwest of Chicago. Fun fact: they actually relive Groundhog Day there every year.