15 Best Movies Set In New York, Ranked

At this point, the history of cinema in the Big Apple is a chicken-or-egg situation: Are movies iconic because they take place in New York City, or is New York City iconic because it features in so many movies? Perhaps it's a little bit of both, since it's one of the most populated cities in the United States and a center-point of east coast culture and the financial world. From the rise of the titular newspaper magnate in Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" to the climactic alien invasion of "The Avengers," New York has been the backdrop for many of cinema's most memorable moments.

Yet, what are the best films ever made that also take place in New York? For the purposes of this ranked list, we're going to consider a few key criteria, not the least of which is the film's unanimous acclaim. However, we also want to consider films that are not only set in New York but helped define (or redfine) the city, the state, or its people for generations to come. Simply put, these are films New Yorkers simply can't fuggehdabout. 

Of course, New York City is most iconic around Christmastime, which is why plenty of films are set in the city during the holiday season. Many could've made this list, including "Home Alone 2," "Carol," and "Miracle on 34th Street." But the one we chose is one of those holiday movies that perfectly captures the feeling of coming to New York City for the first time is 2003's "Elf," starring Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human raised in the North Pole who ventures to the Big Apple in search of his birth father. 

Upon its release, "Elf" became a huge box office hit and a modern Christmas classic, featuring a lot of New York iconography in its narrative. Not only does Buddy's father Walter (James Caan) work in the Empire State Building, but Buddy also visits the Christmas tree at 30 Rockefeller Center and even rescues Santa from a sleigh crash in Central Park by inspiring people to believe in Christmas again. Maybe it's a bit corny for some, but it's the type of film that'll make you yearn for a winter exploring New York City. 

If we have to include a superhero movie on this list, there's simply no superhero more synonymous with New York City than Spider-Man. There's plenty of great "Spider-Man" movies, but many fans still consider Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 2" the best superhero movie of all time. Few superhero films feel as all-encompassing in their depiction of New York's highs and lows than "Spider-Man 2." Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) juggles several day jobs in order to make rent at his apartment, while Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) pursues off-Broadway stardom. 

Of course, the film's greatest moment comes when Spider-Man battles Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) atop an R train heading to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. When an unmasked Peter Parker is nearly saved by the R train passengers, after he saves them from certain death in the New York Harbor, it inspires in its audience a feeling that few superhero movies these days achieve. After all, there's a reason he's the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. 

Much like "Elf," "Coming to America" was a pioneer in the sub-sub-genre that is the fish-out-of-water story set in New York City. Directed by John Landis, the 1988 film stars Eddie Murphy as Akeem, the prince of a fictional African country who journeys to New York City in search of a woman who will marry him not for his status but his personality. It's a classic riches-to-rags story as Akeem, alongside his friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall), shacks up in a shoddy apartment in Queens and gets a job working at a knock-off McDonald's, where he just might meet the love of his life.

Aside from being a perfect star vehicle for one of our most talented comedic minds, "Coming to America" was a significantly sharp contrast to Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise, which is squarely set in the sprawling Los Angeles. Despite showing less of the romantic sightseeing of "Elf," "Coming to America" captures a more accurate view of New York City from the eyes of the lower-class, and on top of that, it features some of the funniest moments of Murphy's movie career. 

Whether or not you agree that Sean Baker's high stress screwball comedy "Anora" is the best movie of 2024 or not, clearly the Academy agrees given they awarded it Best Picture at this past Oscar's ceremony. Mikey Madison's Best Actress-winning performance is iconic just for the New York accent she adopts, but it helps that the film is also shot with stunning views of the New York skyline. Madison plays the titular Ani, a stripper who is hired to entertain and later marry a childish Russian prince named Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn) without his strict family's knowledge.

Most of "Anora" takes place in Brooklyn, save for one iconic sequence where Ani and Vanya fly to Las Vegas and elope, but most of the action is really a wild good chase through Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and nearby areas. Though most viewers of "Anora" probably haven't experienced the high-class, reckless partying depicted during Ani and Vanya's whirlwind romance, a lot of the film is accurate to what a night out in New York City feels like, no matter if you're a rich Russian oligarch or a girl just trying to make it day by day. 

"If Beale Street Could Talk" was Berry Jenkins' follow-up to his Oscar-winning feature "Moonlight," and comparatively, it's a much more ambitious and sprawling love story set in 1970s Harlem, in which Tish (KiKi Layne) attempts to clear the name of her lover Fonny (Stephan James) after he is wrongly convicted of a crime. It features a stellar supporting cast, including Colman Domingo, Diego Luna, Regina King, and Pedro Pascal, and was subject to critical acclaim, with King winning Best Supporting Actress at the following year's Oscars for her performance. 

As a period piece, the New York City it depicts might be unfamiliar to most 21st century audiences, but there are still echoes of its racial divides in the city to this day, particularly locations like Harlem and Greenwich Village that appear significantly in the film. Still, for a film that deals with heavy topics such as racial profiling, sexual assault, and the housing crisis, Jenkins maintains his ability to tell one of the greatest romance stories of all time in film. 

The story of New York City is the story of immigrants, and few films have captured that undeniable spirit to the city than John Crowley's 2015 drama "Brooklyn," based on a novel by Colm Tóibín. Before Saoirse Ronan led Greta Gerwig's coming-of-age hit "Lady Bird," she starred as Eilis, a young Irish woman who immigrates to Brooklyn, falling in love with an Italian-American man named Tony (Emory Cohen) and ends up faced with the choice of whether to spend the rest of her life in this city of opportunity, or return to her home of Enniscorthy for good after  an unexpected tragedy. 

The film was lauded upon its release, especially for Ronan's Oscar-nominated performance. It stands out as a female-led immigrant story, but even beyond its uniquely Irish textures, it's relatable to anybody who's left their home for the Big Apple and struggles with homesickness. So many people have traveled far and wide in search of prosperity or freedom in New York City, and "Brooklyn" as a film feels like a love letter to everyone who still finds romance in making somewhere new your home. 

If you're a tourist in New York City, odds are you've probably nearly been hit my a moving vehicle and shouted, "I'm walkin' here!" Like many phrases and sayings that only exist because of TV or movies, that New York-specific catchphrase originated in the 1969 drama "Midnight Cowboy," after an unplanned taxi cab ran a red light and nearly hit Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight during one scene. However, the rest of the film around it is a lot darker than you might expect after inspiring such an iconic quote. 

In "Midnight Cowboy," Voight plays Joe Buck, a male prostitute who sparks an unlikely friendship with Ratso (Hoffman), a con man with worsening health. It's a lot less romantic in its depiction of New York City than many of these other films, instead showing it more as a place that sucks the life out of its residents rather than holding unlimited opportunity for everyone. Be warned, this is not a film for the feint of heart, even though it is quite historically significant in filmmaking history, as well as the history of New York City lexicon. 

Speaking of films that aren't for the feint of heart, few directorial duos are able to create adrenaline rushes like the Josh & Benny Safdie, who followed up their comedic crime thriller "Good Time" in 2019 with the tense drama, "Uncut Gems." In the film, Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a sleazy Manhattan jeweler whose crippling addiction to gambling sends him on a wild goose chase to pay back a loan shark in his own family (Eric Bogosian), resulting in a scheme involving Boston Celtics player Kevin Garnett (as himself), his ambitious mistress (Julia Fox), and a black opal gem. 

Though it's not hard to predict that things will not work out for Sandler's character, the empathy and fear that audiences universally feel for him keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire film. The A24 film was so beloved when it released that Sandler's snub for an Oscar nomination resulted in criticism from mainstream entertainment publications. Still, you might just feel that same adrenaline rush every time you simply walk through New York City's Diamond District. 

"West Side Story" is already one of the most iconic musicals of all time, reframing the story of "Romeo & Juliet" in the contemporary setting of 1950s New York City. Though some could argue the musical's peak adaptation was the 1961 version, there's no denying that Steven Spielberg's big, vibrant take on the classic musical is not only one of his best films but one of the best movie musicals ever made. In addition to casting then-unknown Rachel Zegler as his Maria, Spielberg filled his cast with theater veterans, including Mike Faist, Ariana DeBose, and the original film's star Rita Moreno. 

What makes "West Side Story" so stunning visually is how committed Spielberg was to capturing the beauty of New York, opting to film on-location in Harlem, Brooklyn, and parts of New Jersey for many of the film's sequences. Though the film has had its fair share of detractors, there's simply not denying just how powerful Spielberg's directorial vision is, and it's at its best when he's using it for highly-choreographed musical numbers. 

Noah Baumbach's films are like a time capsule of New York City throughout the 2000s and 2010s, but few will make you want to drop everything and move to the city more than "Frances Ha." Co-written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig and clearly taking some inspiration from the films of Woody Allen, "Frances Ha" stars Gerwig as the titular financially struggling dancer who grapples with the changes in her life after her best friend and longtime roommate Sophie (Mickey Summer) moves out of their shared apartment in Brooklyn. Though its monochrome visual style doesn't capture the color of New York City, Baumbach's directing and Gerwig's performance perfectly capture the spirit of living in the city.

The film travels from the idyllic views of Bryant Park and Tompkins Square to the lower class apartments of Chinatown and Washington Heights. While Gerwig might've later become a blockbuster director herself with "Barbie," which unintentionally mirrors her own journey, "Frances Ha" feels even more autobiographical for her than her directorial debut, "Lady Bird." 

Few movies capture the spirit of New York City better than "Ghostbusters," the 1984 comedy centered on a trio of scientists... capturing spirits in New York City. Its collection of "Saturday Night Live" alums (Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd), '80s comedy icons (Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis), and sci-fi stars (Sigourney Weaver and Ernie Hudson) made for one of the most iconic comedy franchises in cinematic history. It's rare to have not seen this film, but even if you have, there's still a lot you don't know about "Ghostbusters." 

The film's scale spans the entirety of Manhattan, from the original Ghostbuster trio's ousting from research positions at Columbia University to their repurposed firehouse in Tribeca, as well as their climactic battle with Gozer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man atop Dana Barrett's apartment building near Central Park. The film is even credited with shifting public perception of New York City during the '80s, particularly the way that New Yorkers in the film celebrate the achievements of the oddball team of ghost catchers. 

You don't need to see Spike Lee sitting courtside at a Knicks game to know that the writer-director is a true New Yorker. That relationship with the Big Apple has been present in most of Lee's filmography, but most plainly in his 1989 drama "Do The Right Thing," an ensemble piece examining the racial tensions between African-Americans and Italian-Americans on a hot summer day in Brooklyn. Lee himself also stars as Mookie, who works as a pizza delivery man and is caught between the undercurrent of violence in this community.

"Do the Right Thing" controversy aside, since its release, the film has etched itself into the American film diaspora, capturing a realistic, if brutal depiction of how racial violence has persisted throughout the country's history. The film's content continues to spark discourse to this day, and rightly so. Like many of Spike Lee's other projects, it can feel like a punch to the gut to see a film cut so close to the bone. 

There's probably a healthy amount of people reading this article who are incensed by the thought that "The Godfather" isn't number one on this list. There's an argument to be made that it's one of the greatest films of all time, but its legacy to New York City specifically is more cultural rather than literal. Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 drama centers on the Corleones, a ruling mafia family led by the respectable Vito (Marlon Brando) maintaining the peace between mob factions, centering on his son Michael (Al Pacino), whose aversions to the family business only pull him closer into its orbit.

Even though "The Godfather" was filmed in many iconic New York City locations, including outside Radio City Music Hall and St. Patrick's Cathedral, it also spends decent chunks of its runtime outside the state of New York, in places like Las Vegas and Sicily. For a much different depiction of New York, it's worthwhile to watch "The Godfather (Part II)," in which Robert De Niro portrays a younger Vito Corleone immigrating to the city and establishing his criminal empire. 

We couldn't talk about films set in New York City without including one of the best Martin Scorsese features: 1976's "Taxi Driver," starring Robert De Niro as an insomniac cab driver in Manhattan whose violent tendencies send him on a path of righteousness targeting a presidential candidate. Though the film may have infamously inspired real-life copycat violence, it remains one of the finest films Scorsese has directed and frequently comes to mind when you think of films set in New York City.

Part of what makes "Taxi Driver" such a resonant film to this day is how much of a character New York City is in it, often depicted in the gritty, nighttime decay that was heavily associated with the metropolis in the mid-to-late '70s. The film is like a time capsule of a violent era, far less idyllic than the community shown in other films on this list like "Ghostbusters" or "Spider-Man 2." That being said, we couldn't give it the #1 spot on this list, because there's one other movie that just screams "New York" even more to us...

The Washington Square Arch. A bustling Katz's Delicatessen. Autumn in Central Park. A party on New Year's Eve. The iconography of 1989's "When Harry Met Sally..." might be over 30 years old, but it's as modern a depiction of the city as it gets before the age of cell phones and digital billboards. Rob Reiner's direction feels epic by framing New York City as a place small enough to run into an ex-lover, but wide enough to find the love of your life in. Nora Ephron's writing utilizes various unique settings in the city to color in the timeless love story of the chauvinistic Harry (Billy Crystal) and the uptight Sally (Meg Ryan). 

While the cast of "When Harry Met Sally..." is decidedly one of its best assets, its romance isn't just limited to the relationships between its characters. This movie showcases what an idyllic life in New York City feels like, whether you're the type of walk the streets alone on New Year's Eve, strike up a conversation with a stranger in a bookstore, or make your significant other laugh during a museum visit. There's simply no debate that the greatest film set in New York City is the film that makes everyone want to live in New York City, in spite of ghosts and mobsters and violence.