Movies Set in California
Kinora's catalogue lists 236 films set in California, spanning 1940–2024. Each is tagged by where and when it takes place — filter by real-world setting, era, and environment, or open any film for its full tagged world.
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- 1977
3 Women
Desertdir. Robert Altman - 1995
A Walk in the Clouds
Ruraldir. Alfonso Arau - 1974
A Woman Under the Influence
Urbandir. John Cassavetes - 2002
Adaptation.
Urban · Wildernessdir. Spike Jonze - 1980
Airplane!
dir. Jim Abrahams - 2000
Almost Famous
Urbandir. Cameron Crowe - 2023
American Fiction
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Cord Jefferson - 1973
American Graffiti
Urbandir. George Lucas - 1998
American History X
Urbandir. Tony Kaye - 1992
American Me
Urbandir. Edward James Olmos - 1977
Annie Hall
Urbandir. Woody Allen - 1998
Apt Pupil
Suburbandir. Bryan Singer - 2012
Argo
Urbandir. Ben Affleck - 1976
Assault on Precinct 13
Urbandir. John Carpenter - 2022
Babylon
Urbandir. Damien Chazelle - 1985
Back to the Future
Suburbandir. Robert Zemeckis - 1990
Back to the Future Part III
Rural · Desertdir. Robert Zemeckis - 1955
Bad Day at Black Rock
Desert · Ruraldir. John Sturges - 1987
Bagdad Cafe
Desertdir. Percy Adlon - 2023
Barbie
Urbandir. Greta Gerwig - 1991
Barton Fink
Urbandir. Joel Coen - 1992
Basic Instinct
Urbandir. Paul Verhoeven - 1984
Beverly Hills Cop
Urbandir. Martin Brest - 1986
Big Trouble in Little China
Urban · Undergrounddir. John Carpenter - 1989
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Suburbandir. Stephen Herek - 1988
Bird
Urbandir. Clint Eastwood - 1962
Birdman of Alcatraz
Islanddir. John Frankenheimer - 2018
Black Panther
Urbandir. Ryan Coogler - 1982
Blade Runner
Urbandir. Ridley Scott - 2017
Blade Runner 2049
Urbandir. Denis Villeneuve - 2018
Blindspotting
Urbandir. Carlos López Estrada - 1997
Boogie Nights
Urban · Suburbandir. Paul Thomas Anderson - 1993
Bound by Honor
Urbandir. Taylor Hackford - 1991
Boyz n the Hood
Urbandir. John Singleton - 1968
Bullitt
Urbandir. Peter Yates - 2008
Changeling
Urbandir. Clint Eastwood - 2014
Chef
Urbandir. Jon Favreau - 1974
Chinatown
Urbandir. Roman Polanski - 2012
Cloud Atlas
Urban · Island · Coastal Sea · Off Worlddir. Lilly Wachowski - 1995
Clueless
Urbandir. Amy Heckerling - 1980
Coal Miner's Daughter
Ruraldir. Michael Apted - 2004
Collateral
Urbandir. Michael Mann - 2014
Creep
Wilderness · Mountaindir. Patrick Brice - 1949
Criss Cross
Urbandir. Robert Siodmak - 1949
D.O.A.
Urbandir. Rudolph Maté - 1947
Dark Passage
Urbandir. Delmer Daves - 1992
Death Becomes Her
Urbandir. Robert Zemeckis - 1945
Detour
Urban · Desertdir. Edgar G. Ulmer - 1995
Devil in a Blue Dress
Urbandir. Carl Franklin - 1988
Die Hard
Urbandir. John McTiernan - 1971
Dirty Harry
Urbandir. Don Siegel - 1944
Double Indemnity
Urbandir. Billy Wilder - 2011
Drive
Urbandir. Nicolas Winding Refn - 1971
Duel
Desert · Ruraldir. Steven Spielberg - 1982
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Suburbandir. Steven Spielberg - 1955
East of Eden
Ruraldir. Elia Kazan - 1994
Ed Wood
Urbandir. Tim Burton - 2013
Elysium
Urban · Off Worlddir. Neill Blomkamp - 2012
End of Watch
Urbandir. David Ayer - 2000
Erin Brockovich
Urban · Suburbandir. Steven Soderbergh - 1979
Escape from Alcatraz
Island · Coastal Seadir. Don Siegel - 1971
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Urbandir. Don Taylor - 2022
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Urbandir. Daniel Scheinert - 1997
Face/Off
Urbandir. John Woo - 1993
Falling Down
Urbandir. Joel Schumacher - 1982
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Suburbandir. Amy Heckerling - 1970
Five Easy Pieces
Rural · Island · Coastal Seadir. Bob Rafelson - 2019
Ford v Ferrari
Urbandir. James Mangold - 2008
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Islanddir. Nicholas Stoller - 1995
Four Rooms
Urbandir. Allison Anders - 2013
Fruitvale Station
Urbandir. Ryan Coogler - 1995
Get Shorty
Urbandir. Barry Sonnenfeld - 1967
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Urbandir. Stanley Kramer - 1950
Gun Crazy
Ruraldir. Joseph H. Lewis - 1979
Hardcore
Urbandir. Paul Schrader - 1995
Heat
Urbandir. Michael Mann - 2013
Her
Urbandir. Spike Jonze - 1941
High Sierra
Mountain · Urbandir. Raoul Walsh - 1993
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Wilderness · Mountain · Ruraldir. Duwayne Dunham - 1998
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Islanddir. Kevin Rodney Sullivan - 1962
How the West Was Won
Wilderness · Rural · Mountaindir. John Ford - 1950
In a Lonely Place
Urbandir. Nicholas Ray - 1993
In the Line of Fire
Urbandir. Wolfgang Petersen - 2010
Inception
Urbandir. Christopher Nolan - 1996
Independence Day
Urban · Desertdir. Roland Emmerich - 2015
Inside Out
Urbandir. Pete Docter - 1994
Interview with the Vampire
Urbandir. Neil Jordan - 2007
Into the Wild
Wilderness · Rural · Desertdir. Sean Penn - 1978
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Urbandir. Philip Kaufman - 1956
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Ruraldir. Don Siegel - 1963
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Desert · Ruraldir. Stanley Kramer - 1997
Jackie Brown
Urbandir. Quentin Tarantino - 1955
Kiss Me Deadly
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Robert Aldrich - 1997
L.A. Confidential
Urbandir. Curtis Hanson - 1987
La Bamba
Urbandir. Luis Valdez - 2016
La La Land
Urbandir. Damien Chazelle - 2017
Lady Bird
Suburbandir. Greta Gerwig - 2024
Late Night with the Devil
Urbandir. Cameron Cairnes - 1987
Lethal Weapon
Urbandir. Richard Donner - 1989
Lethal Weapon 2
Urbandir. Richard Donner - 1997
Liar Liar
Urbandir. Tom Shadyac - 2021
Licorice Pizza
Suburbandir. Paul Thomas Anderson - 2006
Little Miss Sunshine
Suburban · Desertdir. Jonathan Dayton - 1997
Lost Highway
Urban · Desertdir. David Lynch - 2000
Love & Basketball
Urbandir. Gina Prince-Bythewood - 1999
Magnolia
Urbandir. Paul Thomas Anderson - 1973
Magnum Force
Urbandir. Ted Post - 2019
Marriage Story
Urbandir. Noah Baumbach - 1985
Mask
Suburbandir. Peter Bogdanovich - 2000
Memento
Urbandir. Christopher Nolan - 1993
Menace II Society
Urbandir. Albert Hughes - 1988
Midnight Run
Urban · Desertdir. Martin Brest - 1945
Mildred Pierce
Suburban · Urbandir. Michael Curtiz - 2008
Milk
Urbandir. Gus Van Sant - 2004
Million Dollar Baby
Urbandir. Clint Eastwood - 1989
Miracle Mile
Urbandir. Steve De Jarnatt - 2023
Missing
Urban · Suburbandir. Will Merrick - 2011
Moneyball
Urbandir. Bennett Miller - 1993
Mrs. Doubtfire
Urbandir. Chris Columbus - 2001
Mulholland Drive
Urbandir. David Lynch - 1983
National Lampoon's Vacation
Desert · Ruraldir. Harold Ramis - 1975
Night Moves
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Arthur Penn - 1991
Night on Earth
Urbandir. Jim Jarmusch - 2014
Nightcrawler
Urbandir. Dan Gilroy - 2021
Nomadland
Rural · Wildernessdir. Chloé Zhao - 2022
Nope
Ruraldir. Jordan Peele - 1992
Of Mice and Men
Ruraldir. Gary Sinise - 2019
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Urbandir. Quentin Tarantino - 1947
Out of the Past
Rural · Mountain · Urbandir. Jacques Tourneur - 1985
Pale Rider
Mountain · Ruraldir. Clint Eastwood - 2020
Palm Springs
Desertdir. Max Barbakow - 2007
Paranormal Activity
Suburbandir. Oren Peli - 1984
Paris, Texas
Desert · Urbandir. Wim Wenders - 1985
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
dir. Tim Burton - 1972
Play It Again, Sam
Urbandir. Herbert Ross - 1967
Point Blank
Urbandir. John Boorman - 1991
Point Break
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Kathryn Bigelow - 1982
Poltergeist
Suburbandir. Tobe Hooper - 1990
Pretty Woman
Urbandir. Garry Marshall - 1994
Pulp Fiction
Urbandir. Quentin Tarantino - 2002
Punch-Drunk Love
Urbandir. Paul Thomas Anderson - 1988
Rain Man
Urban · Ruraldir. Barry Levinson - 1955
Rebel Without a Cause
Suburban · Urbandir. Nicholas Ray - 2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Urban · Suburban · Wildernessdir. Rupert Wyatt - 1986
River's Edge
dir. Tim Hunter - 1982
Rocky III
Urbandir. Sylvester Stallone - 1998
Rush Hour
Urbandir. Brett Ratner - 1942
Saboteur
Urban · Desertdir. Alfred Hitchcock - 1995
Safe
Suburban · Desertdir. Todd Haynes - 1973
Scarecrow
Urban · Ruraldir. Jerry Schatzberg - 1996
Scream
Suburbandir. Wes Craven - 2018
Searching
Suburbandir. Aneesh Chaganty - 1966
Seconds
Suburban · Coastal Seadir. John Frankenheimer - 1996
Set It Off
Urbandir. F. Gary Gray - 1943
Shadow of a Doubt
Suburbandir. Alfred Hitchcock - 1993
Short Cuts
Urban · Suburbandir. Robert Altman - 2004
Sideways
Ruraldir. Alexander Payne - 1952
Singin' in the Rain
Urbandir. Gene Kelly - 1992
Sneakers
Urbandir. Phil Alden Robinson - 2018
Sorry to Bother You
Urbandir. Boots Riley - 1994
Speed
Urbandir. Jan de Bont - 1988
Stand and Deliver
Urbandir. Ramón Menéndez - 2015
Straight Outta Compton
Urbandir. F. Gary Gray - 1941
Sullivan's Travels
Urban · Ruraldir. Preston Sturges - 1950
Sunset Boulevard
Urbandir. Billy Wilder - 1978
Superman
Urban · Rural · Off Worlddir. Richard Donner - 1991
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Urbandir. James Cameron - 1996
That Thing You Do!
Urbandir. Tom Hanks - 2011
The Artist
Urbandir. Michel Hazanavicius - 1952
The Bad and the Beautiful
Urbandir. Vincente Minnelli - 1998
The Big Lebowski
Urbandir. Joel Coen - 1946
The Big Sleep
Urbandir. Howard Hawks - 1963
The Birds
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Alfred Hitchcock - 1954
The Caine Mutiny
Coastal Seadir. Edward Dmytryk - 1979
The China Syndrome
Urbandir. James Bridges - 1974
The Conversation
Urbandir. Francis Ford Coppola - 2023
The Creator
Urban · Rural · Off Worlddir. Gareth Edwards - 1978
The Driver
Urbandir. Walter Hill - 2022
The Fabelmans
Suburban · Urbandir. Steven Spielberg - 2016
The Founder
Suburbandir. John Lee Hancock - 1997
The Game
Urbandir. David Fincher - 1967
The Graduate
Suburbandir. Mike Nichols - 1940
The Grapes of Wrath
Ruraldir. John Ford - 1990
The Grifters
Urbandir. Stephen Frears - 2006
The Holiday
Rural · Urbandir. Nancy Meyers - 1979
The Jerk
Rural · Urbandir. Carl Reiner - 1984
The Karate Kid
Suburbandir. John G. Avildsen - 1976
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Urbandir. John Cassavetes - 2007
The Kite Runner
Urbandir. Marc Forster - 1947
The Lady from Shanghai
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Orson Welles - 1973
The Long Goodbye
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Robert Altman - 1987
The Lost Boys
Coastal Seadir. Joel Schumacher - 1941
The Maltese Falcon
Urbandir. John Huston - 2001
The Man Who Wasn't There
Suburbandir. Joel Coen - 2012
The Master
Urbandir. Paul Thomas Anderson - 2021
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Suburban · Urbandir. Mike Rianda - 1979
The Muppet Movie
Rural · Desertdir. James Frawley - 1988
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Urbandir. David Zucker - 1974
The Parallax View
Urbandir. Alan J. Pakula - 1968
The Party
Suburbandir. Blake Edwards - 1996
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Urbandir. Miloš Forman - 1992
The Player
Urbandir. Robert Altman - 1946
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Ruraldir. Tay Garnett - 1983
The Right Stuff
Desert · Off Worlddir. Philip Kaufman - 1996
The Rock
Islanddir. Michael Bay - 1993
The Sandlot
Suburbandir. David Mickey Evans - 2024
The Substance
Urbandir. Coralie Fargeat - 1984
The Terminator
Urbandir. James Cameron - 1974
The Towering Inferno
Urbandir. John Guillermin - 1995
The Usual Suspects
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Bryan Singer - 1953
The War of the Worlds
Rural · Urbandir. Byron Haskin - 1973
The Way We Were
dir. Sydney Pollack - 1953
The Wild One
Ruraldir. László Benedek - 2005
The World's Fastest Indian
Rural · Desert · Urbandir. Roger Donaldson - 1954
Them!
Desert · Urban · Undergrounddir. Gordon Douglas - 2007
There Will Be Blood
Ruraldir. Paul Thomas Anderson - 1988
They Live
Urbandir. John Carpenter - 1969
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Sydney Pollack - 1981
Thief
Urbandir. Michael Mann - 1985
To Live and Die in L.A.
Urban · Desertdir. William Friedkin - 1986
Top Gun
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Tony Scott - 2000
Traffic
Urban · Suburbandir. Steven Soderbergh - 2001
Training Day
Urbandir. Antoine Fuqua - 1993
True Romance
Urbandir. Tony Scott - 2014
Unfriended
Suburbandir. Levan Gabriadze - 2019
Us
Coastal Sea · Suburban · Undergrounddir. Jordan Peele - 1971
Vanishing Point
Desertdir. Richard C. Sarafian - 1958
Vertigo
Urbandir. Alfred Hitchcock - 1962
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Robert Aldrich - 1993
What's Love Got to Do with It
Urbandir. Brian Gibson - 1972
What's Up, Doc?
Urbandir. Peter Bogdanovich - 1949
White Heat
Urbandir. Raoul Walsh - 1988
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Urbandir. Robert Zemeckis - 1970
Zabriskie Point
Desert · Urbandir. Michelangelo Antonioni - 2007
Zodiac
Urbandir. David Fincher - 2009
Zombieland
Rural · Urbandir. Ruben Fleischer
Frequently asked
How many movies are set in California?
Kinora's catalogue lists 236 films set in California, spanning 1940–2024.
What are some movies set in California?
Films set in California in our catalogue include 3 Women (1977), A Walk in the Clouds (1995), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Adaptation. (2002), and Airplane! (1980).
What is the oldest movie set in California?
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) is the earliest film set in California in our catalogue; the most recent is The Substance (2024).