The Peach State is known for many things outside Georgia football, the Atlanta Braves and Augusta National. Outside of sports, there's the World of Coca-Cola, the Garden of Good and Evil and of course plenty of helpings of chicken and dumplings and/or shrimp and grits.
But the film industry has also found a home in the state of Georgia, often filming in Atlanta, Savannah or Athens to depict some southern hospitality on the silver screen.
So with the Academy Awards almost upon us, BetGeorgia took a break from Georgia sports betting to find the 10 highest ranked movies shot in the state by utilizing the following data points — IMDB rating, Rotten Tomatoes Audience score, Rotten Tomatoes Critic score, Box Office and Oscars recognition.
The 2017 biopic "I, Tonya" came in at the top of our rankings largely thanks to two heavyweight performances from Margot Robbie as figure-skater Tonya Harding and the always great Allison Janney as her hard-driving mother. The Macon-shot film utilized Macon Coliseum as a set throughout filming, and Janney took home Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards. Figure that, a figure-skating movie takes the crown for best film shot in Georgia!
At No. 2 was another biopic, the 2014 Martin Luther King Jr.-focused "Selma." Ava DuVernay's film about the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches scored a Best Picture Oscar nomination, though lead David Oyelowo was controversially snubbed for a Best Actor nom.
Last year's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" at No. 3 is something of a head scratcher. While the film shot in both Atlanta and Brunswick, few folks would identify that as a Georgia film due to the Marvel, science fiction plot lines. However, we're all rooting for the great Angela Bassett to pick up her first Oscar come Sunday for her role as The Sovereign Queen Mother of Wakanda.
At No. 4 is a film that reminded you never to go into the woods alone. 1972's "Deliverance" was shot primarily in Rabun County, and didn't exactly bolster the standing of Georgia backwoods. If you've seen the film, you know.
At. No. 5 is the ever-popular "My Cousin Vinny," featuring Joe Pesci as a fish-out-of-water lawyer in a Southern town. The film, which has had a long life on cable, was shot all over the state of Georgia, and Marisa Tomei took home Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars.
In at No. 6 is the first of two Jennifer Lawrence (and Woody Harrelson) films on this list, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." The second film in the series, this one took in $865 million at the box office, and showcased metropolitan Atlanta while doing it.
No. 7 is the Woody Harrelson-led "Zombieland," a 2009 comedy that saw Woody team with Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Jesse Eisenberg and (briefly) Bill Murray to take on a zombie apocalypse.
No. 8 is the 1991 film "Fried Green Tomatoes," the second oldest film on our list behind "Deliverance." Jessica Tandy was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but lost to Mercedes Ruehl in "The Fisher King."
In the last two spots is "X-Men: First Class," a 2011 action film that gets credit for relaunching the "X-Men" franchise for years to come. Casting a young Jennifer Lawrence just before she broke out in "The Hunger Games" certainly helped.
Last but not least is a film that any sports fan knows. The 2000 film "Remember The Titans," a Denzel Washington showcase based on a true story of a high school football coach charged with integrating his team in 1971. Filmed in both Rome, Georgia and Atlanta, the movie made over $136 million at the box office on a $30 million budget.
Author
Thomas Leary is a news editor and writer for BetGeorgia.com. He previously spent six years at Sports Business Journal, where he helped identify emerging sectors across sports business, such as legalized gambling, and helped launch a digital newsletter division. Thomas lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Emmie and their dog, Pickles.
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