10 Hollywood Movies Filmed in Indiana

Indiana isn’t usually the first place people think of for Hollywood backdrops, but it’s been the setting for some iconic films.

The best-known is Hoosiers (1986), often called one of the greatest sports movies ever made. It was filmed almost entirely in small Indiana towns like New Richmond and Knightstown, with real gyms and local extras helping capture the feel of 1950s basketball.

Other classics followed the same approach. Breaking Away was shot fully in Bloomington, and Rudy made use of the real Notre Dame campus in South Bend.

1. Hoosiers (1986)

Hoosiers is probably the most Indiana movie ever made. It’s based on Milan High School’s 1954 state championship run and was filmed entirely in the state to capture real Midwestern life.

The production used more than a dozen Indiana towns and gyms—New Richmond doubled as Hickory, Knightstown gave us the now-famous Hoosier Gym, and scenes were also shot in Lebanon and Indianapolis. Local extras filled the stands to make the games feel genuine. The Hoosier Gym is still intact today, now serving as both a museum and event space.

Other great Indiana sports films followed the same approach. Breaking Away was shot in Bloomington, and Rudy used the actual Notre Dame campus in South Bend.

2. Breaking Away (1979)

 

Breaking Away is a coming-of-age drama that captures the atmosphere of Bloomington, Indiana, home to Indiana University. It really feels like Bloomington.

You’ve got the clash between the locals and the IU students, and the town itself is part of the story.

The Little 500 race was filmed right on campus, and it’s as exciting on screen as it is in real life. They also used real neighborhoods and the limestone quarries around town, which makes it impossible to separate the movie from Indiana.

3. Rudy (1993)

Another sports drama with deep Indiana roots, Rudy tells the real story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, a young man with dreams of playing football for Notre Dame.

Filming took place primarily on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Key locations include Notre Dame Stadium, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and the Grotto.

The university allowed the film to shoot during halftime of an actual football game, lending credibility to the crowd scenes. South Bend streets and bars were also used to depict Rudy’s working-class background.

4. A League of Their Own (1992)

Though primarily associated with baseball and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, A League of Their Own filmed major sequences in Indiana. Huntingburg, Indiana, served as the location for several of the on-field scenes.

The Huntingburg League Stadium was refurbished specifically for the film. The production used real period uniforms and modified the stadium to reflect the 1940s.

Local townspeople were hired as extras, and Huntingburg briefly transformed into a 1940s Midwestern baseball town.

5. Public Enemies (2009)

Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, tells the story of one of America’s most famous gangsters.

Most of the movie was filmed in Illinois and Wisconsin, but Indiana plays a key role. The Crown Point jail escape scene was shot at the real Lake County Jail—where Dillinger actually broke out in 1934.

The production leaned on history, using the original location along with period-accurate cars, uniforms, and details. It’s one of those rare cases where Hollywood didn’t just build a set—they filmed where the real thing happened.

6. Columbus (2017)

This indie drama, critically acclaimed for its cinematography and quiet storytelling, was entirely filmed in Columbus, Indiana, a city known for its world-renowned modernist architecture.

Columbus uses these buildings not as background but as central visual elements reflecting the emotional landscape of the characters.

Sites like the Miller House, North Christian Church, and the public library are central to the film. It’s one of the rare movies that puts architectural heritage at the center of the narrative.

7. Hard Rain (1998)

Hard Rain is an action thriller starring Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman, set during a flood and filmed largely in Huntingburg, Indiana. The town was temporarily flooded by the production team using elaborate water tanks and rain effects.

Many of the action scenes were shot on practical sets built on location, making Huntingburg one of the most significantly transformed locations used in a 1990s action movie. The downtown area was heavily used and later restored after production.

8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Although mostly filmed in Alabama and Wyoming, one early scene in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind takes place in Muncie, Indiana. The film opens with a domestic setting involving UFO phenomena in a Muncie suburb.

While most of these scenes were shot on a soundstage, the mention of Muncie helps ground the story in real Midwestern geography. The city has embraced its brief connection to the movie through local events and exhibitions.

9. The Judge (2014)

Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, The Judge filmed several rural scenes in Indiana, specifically in the towns of Shelburn and Cartersburg.

The production aimed for a Midwestern look and found it in Indiana’s small-town streets, railroads, and court buildings. Although some courtroom interiors were shot elsewhere, the exterior shots and town square sequences were authentically Indiana.

The film emphasizes the atmosphere of family tension and rural tradition.

10. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Though primarily set in Chicago, parts of Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell, were filmed in Indiana. The film’s crew used locations in Hammond and East Chicago for supporting industrial scenes and transitional shots.

The fictional tone of the film is balanced by these real Midwestern backdrops, giving the movie a grounded feel during otherwise whimsical moments.

Conclusion

Indiana shows up in movies in ways that feel real. Sports classics like Hoosiers and Rudy lean on its gyms and football fields, while Columbus turns the town’s modernist architecture into a quiet character of its own. Even a thriller like Hard Rain uses small-town Indiana as the backdrop for chaos.

What ties these films together is authenticity. The places look lived-in because they are. You can’t fake that on a Hollywood backlot.

If you only make it to one spot, the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown is the easiest recommendation. It’s been preserved exactly as it was in Hoosiers, and walking inside feels like stepping into the movie.

For anyone who cares about movies or American culture, Indiana’s filming locations aren’t just trivia. They’re real spaces—gyms, towns, neighborhoods—where the stories we remember were actually created.