Phoenix may be better known for its desert landscapes, mountain views and year-round sunshine, but the city has also played an important role in American cinema. From Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho to the Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona, Phoenix and the surrounding Valley have appeared in movies spanning horror, comedy, drama, romance and action.
Some films actually use Phoenix as a story location, while others use the city and surrounding Arizona communities as filming locations. In several cases, the distinction can be surprising: a movie may be set somewhere else but use Phoenix streets, highways or landmarks to create the right visual setting.
If you are interested in movies set in Phoenix, these 10 films are a great place to start. They also provide an interesting way to see how Phoenix and the surrounding Valley have been represented on screen over the decades.
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1. Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is one of the most famous movies connected with Phoenix.
The film begins in Phoenix, where Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, is introduced during a lunchtime meeting with her lover Sam Loomis. After stealing money from her employer, Marion leaves Phoenix and begins driving toward California, setting the rest of the story into motion.
The opening Phoenix sequence is relatively short, but it is historically significant because it establishes Phoenix before the film moves toward its much more famous California locations.
Phoenix New Times notes that much of the exterior material for the opening was filmed in Phoenix, including downtown Phoenix. Arizona transportation officials also note that Psycho famously opens in Phoenix, with Marion driving from the city toward California.
For movie fans exploring Phoenix, Psycho is therefore one of the clearest examples of a major Hollywood film directly connecting the city to its story.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Year: 1960
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Phoenix connection: The film opens in Phoenix and includes Phoenix filming locations.
2. Raising Arizona (1987)
If there is one movie that should be at the top of any list of movies set in Phoenix or filmed around Phoenix, it is Raising Arizona.
The Coen Brothers’ eccentric comedy stars Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as H.I. and Ed McDunnough, a couple whose increasingly ridiculous attempt to have a child leads them into a chaotic kidnapping adventure.
The movie is deeply connected to Arizona visually and geographically. Production took place around Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, and numerous recognizable Valley locations were used during filming. IMDb’s location records include Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, and a Circle K on West Deer Valley Road that served as the Short Stop convenience store.
Visit Phoenix also highlights locations including the Jokake Inn at The Phoenician in Scottsdale and Lost Dutchman State Park, where the desert setting becomes part of the film’s visual identity.
The result is one of the most memorable movie portrayals of the Phoenix area—not as a generic desert backdrop, but as a distinctive Southwestern environment.
Genre: Comedy / Crime
Year: 1987
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter
Phoenix connection: Extensive filming around Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe.
3. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Little Miss Sunshine follows the dysfunctional Hoover family as they travel across the country in a yellow Volkswagen bus so young Olive can compete in a children’s beauty pageant.
Although the story is a road trip rather than a movie entirely set in Phoenix, Phoenix and Arizona play an important role in the journey.
The movie’s desert highways and Southwestern scenery help create the visual transition between the family’s starting point and their final destination. Phoenix New Times included Little Miss Sunshine among the major movies shot in and around Phoenix, noting that the family’s journey from New Mexico to California was represented using Arizona locations.
The movie is particularly interesting for Phoenix visitors because it shows the region through the perspective of a road trip. Instead of focusing on tourist attractions, the film uses highways, desert landscapes and roadside environments.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Year: 2006
Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin
Phoenix connection: Phoenix-area and Arizona roads and locations were used during filming.
4. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is another movie with a strong Phoenix-area connection.
The science-fiction comedy follows two high-school friends who travel through time while trying to complete a history assignment. The film combines comedy, music and time-travel fantasy with recognizable Southern California and Arizona locations.
Arizona Republic reporting notes that principal filming for the movie took place in Phoenix and Tempe.
For Phoenix film-history fans, this makes Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure particularly interesting because the movie captures parts of the Valley at a very different point in the region’s history.
Genre: Comedy / Science Fiction
Year: 1989
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter
Phoenix connection: Principal filming took place in Phoenix and Tempe.
5. Wayne’s World (1992)
Wayne’s World brought Mike Myers and Dana Carvey’s famous Saturday Night Live characters to the big screen.
The story centers on Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, two friends who create a public-access television show from Wayne’s basement. While the movie is not primarily a Phoenix story, the city and surrounding Valley played an important role in production.
Phoenix New Times included Wayne’s World in its list of movies shot around Phoenix and noted the connection to Phoenix musician Alice Cooper.
For visitors interested in Phoenix’s music and entertainment history, the film offers another example of Hollywood using the city as a production location.
Genre: Comedy / Music
Year: 1992
Stars: Mike Myers, Dana Carvey
Phoenix connection: Filmed in the Phoenix area.
6. The War of the Worlds (1953)
The original The War of the Worlds is a fascinating addition to a Phoenix movie list because Phoenix becomes part of the movie’s alien-invasion story.
The science-fiction classic depicts an extraterrestrial invasion of Earth, and Phoenix was used among the locations representing the unfolding catastrophe.
Phoenix New Times notes that the 1953 film portrayed the night the aliens attacked Phoenix—even though the broader movie story takes place in Southern California.
For modern audiences, the movie is also an interesting historical snapshot of how Phoenix looked during the early postwar period.
Genre: Science Fiction
Year: 1953
Phoenix connection: Phoenix was represented as one of the locations affected by the alien invasion.
7. A Home at the End of the World (2004)
A Home at the End of the World is a drama based on Michael Cunningham’s novel.
The movie follows characters whose lives become connected over several years and locations. Phoenix appears as one of the settings during the story, although it is not the primary setting throughout the film.
Phoenix New Times included the movie among productions connected to Phoenix and noted that characters travel to Phoenix during the story.
Compared with movies such as Raising Arizona, its Phoenix connection is more limited, but it still belongs in a broader look at Phoenix’s history on screen.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Year: 2004
Stars: Colin Farrell, Robin Wright, Dallas Roberts
Phoenix connection: Phoenix appears as a story location.
8. Transamerica (2005)
Transamerica is a road movie and comedy-drama starring Felicity Huffman as Bree, a transgender woman preparing for gender-affirming surgery who discovers that she has a son.
Phoenix appears during the characters’ journey and is one of the locations incorporated into the film.
Phoenix New Times identified Transamerica as one of the films with Phoenix scenes, noting that only some portions were actually filmed in the city.
Its Phoenix connection is therefore smaller than Raising Arizona or Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but it demonstrates how Phoenix has repeatedly been used as a stop within larger American road stories.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Year: 2005
Star: Felicity Huffman
Phoenix connection: Phoenix appears during the road-trip story and some scenes were filmed in the city.
9. The Gauntlet (1977)
Clint Eastwood’s The Gauntlet is another movie with a significant Phoenix connection.
The action thriller follows a police officer assigned to transport a witness from Las Vegas to Phoenix. The journey becomes increasingly dangerous as the pair discover that powerful people want the witness dead.
Phoenix’s presence in the film is particularly interesting because the city functions as the destination within the story rather than simply appearing as scenery.
The movie is also part of Phoenix’s broader film history. Phoenix’s official city overview and film-history sources list The Gauntlet among notable movies filmed at least partly in Phoenix.
Genre: Action / Thriller
Year: 1977
Star: Clint Eastwood
Phoenix connection: Phoenix is an important destination in the story and the film was partly shot in the city.
10. Waiting to Exhale (1995)
Waiting to Exhale, directed by Forest Whitaker, is a romantic comedy-drama centered on four women navigating relationships, careers and friendship.
The film is primarily associated with Phoenix and Arizona in its production history, making it another significant movie for anyone researching movies filmed in Phoenix.
Phoenix’s connection to the film adds another dimension to the city’s cinematic history because it demonstrates the range of productions that have used the Valley. Phoenix has not only served as a backdrop for desert action movies and comedies but has also hosted character-driven dramas and romantic stories.
The film is included among notable movies filmed at least partially in Phoenix.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Year: 1995
Stars: Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon
Phoenix connection: Phoenix-area filming.
Movies Set in Phoenix vs. Movies Filmed in Phoenix
There is an important difference between the two phrases.
A movie set in Phoenix uses Phoenix as part of the story’s fictional geography. Characters may live there, travel there or begin their story there.
A movie filmed in Phoenix simply means that production used Phoenix or surrounding locations to shoot scenes. The story could be set somewhere completely different.
For example, Psycho famously begins in Phoenix, while The War of the Worlds uses Phoenix as part of its alien-invasion sequence. Raising Arizona, meanwhile, has an especially strong Arizona identity because the production filmed extensively around Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe.
This distinction is worth including because it helps readers understand why a search for “movies set in Phoenix” produces some films that do not actually take place entirely in the city.
Why Is Phoenix Popular With Filmmakers?
Phoenix offers filmmakers something difficult to recreate elsewhere: a combination of desert landscapes, mountains, highways, suburban neighborhoods and a large metropolitan environment.
The region can visually stand in for several different locations while still providing the production infrastructure of a major American city.
Arizona’s history with filmmaking also stretches far beyond Phoenix. The state has hosted westerns, science-fiction films, comedies and major Hollywood productions for decades.
Phoenix’s combination of sunshine, distinctive desert scenery and accessible roads has therefore made it a useful production location.
Can You Visit Phoenix Movie Locations?
Yes. Film fans can incorporate several movie-related locations into a Phoenix trip.
Raising Arizona provides some of the most interesting possibilities because Visit Phoenix identifies several recognizable locations around the Valley, including the Jokake Inn and desert locations around Lost Dutchman State Park.
Camelback Mountain and other Phoenix-area landscapes also appear in production records for Raising Arizona.
However, movie locations can change dramatically over time. Some businesses close, buildings are demolished or private properties change ownership. Always verify the current status before making a location part of your itinerary.
FAQ
What movies are set in Phoenix?
Some notable movies connected to Phoenix include Psycho, Raising Arizona, The Gauntlet, A Home at the End of the World, Transamerica and Waiting to Exhale. Other movies were filmed in Phoenix even when the story was set elsewhere.
What famous movie was filmed in Phoenix?
Raising Arizona, Psycho, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Little Miss Sunshine and Wayne’s World are among the better-known movies filmed in or around Phoenix.
Was Raising Arizona filmed in Phoenix?
Yes. Raising Arizona was filmed extensively around the Phoenix metropolitan area, including Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. Production records include locations such as Camelback Mountain and a Phoenix Circle K used as the Short Stop convenience store.
Was Psycho filmed in Phoenix?
Yes. Psycho opens in Phoenix, and exterior filming for the opening sequence took place in Phoenix. Downtown Phoenix was among the locations used.
What movie was filmed in Phoenix with Nicolas Cage?
Raising Arizona is the most famous example. Nicolas Cage stars alongside Holly Hunter, and the movie was filmed extensively around Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe.
What movies were filmed in Phoenix in the 1980s?
Notable examples include Raising Arizona (1987) and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). Both have strong Phoenix-area filming connections.
Are there Phoenix movie locations tourists can visit?
Yes. Some Raising Arizona filming locations remain identifiable, although individual properties and businesses can change over time. Camelback Mountain and other publicly accessible Arizona locations associated with the production can be explored, while private locations should be viewed only with appropriate permission.
Final Thoughts
Phoenix has had a surprisingly long relationship with Hollywood.
From the opening minutes of Hitchcock’s Psycho to the eccentric desert comedy of Raising Arizona, the city and surrounding Valley have provided settings for films across generations and genres. Other movies, including Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Little Miss Sunshine, Wayne’s World and The Gauntlet, demonstrate how frequently Phoenix has appeared behind the scenes of major productions.
