11 Movies Filmed on Cape Cod & the Islands

Discover inspiring movies filmed on Cape Cod to plan your next trip or watch on a rainy day there!

From romantic comedies on sandy beaches to thrilling dramas in quaint seaside towns, this destination has captivated filmmakers for decades. You’ll love picking out your favorite spots in these movies filmed on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Movies Filmed on Cape Cod & the Islands

Many of these movies and TV shows are available to watch on streaming services. As availability changes so rapidly lately, I use JustWatch or Letterboxd to find the service they are currently streaming on or find out how to rent them.

1. The Golden Boys, 2008

Filming Locations | Barnstable, Chatham, Orleans, Provincetown, Yarmouth

A romantic comedy set on Cape Cod in 1905, The Golden Boys follows 3 retired sea captains as they all pursue a younger woman in hopes of marrying her. Adapted from the 1904 book Cap’n Eri: A Story of the Coast by Joseph C. Lincoln.

2. The Lightkeepers, 2009

Filming Locations | Barnstable (Hyannis), Provincetown, Truro

Another romantic comedy set on Cape Cod in the early 20th century. In 1912, two lighthouse keepers – one young and one old – have sworn off women. That is until they meet two women in the area on vacation. This movie is also based on a book by Joseph C. Lincoln called The Woman Haters: A Yarn of Eastboro Twin-Lights, which was published in 1911.

3. That’s My Boy, 2012

Filming Locations | Chatham, Dennis, Barnstable (Osterville)

As a middle schooler, Donny is in a relationship with his teacher, Mary, who is eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison for their illicit affair. She gives birth to Donny’s son, Todd, while in prison, and Donny’s deadbeat father helps to raise him until Donny turns 18. As a result, Donny is treated like a celebrity and leads a wildlife. 

Fast forward to Todd’s wedding weekend on Cape Cod – Donny, estranged from his son for years, shows up uninvited and on a mission. He plans to get the reunion with his son on camera and pay his back taxes with the profits when he sells the video.

Reviews of this movie are not great. Tawdry themes and jokes in the film have garnered harsh criticism (as Adam Sandler movies sometimes do). Honestly, the jokes made me feel a little uncomfortable when I watched it, but I did watch it just one time to see if I could place the Cape Cod filming locations.

4. Year By the Sea, 2016

Filming Locations | Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Orleans, Wellfleet

Based on the memoir Year By the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman by Joan Anderson, this movie follows a woman on a search for herself.

After becoming empty nesters, she and her husband decide to sell their home and move, but not to the same place. Instead of following her husband as he begins a new job, Joan moves alone to Cape Cod to focus on herself and her abandoned goals.

5. The Finest Hours, 2016

Filming Locations | Chatham

Based on the true story of a daring rescue made by Bernard Webber, a crewman with the US Coast Guard in Chatham during a nor’easter in 1952. Bernard manages to rescue 32 crewmen of the SS Pendleton, an oil tanker that was split in two while at sea during the winter storm, using a lifesaving boat with a capacity for just 12 people.

He lost his compass while navigating the dangerous shoals off the coast of Chatham, so Webber used the headlights from the townspeople’s cars as they lined up at the pier after the power went out because of the storm to find his way back to shore.

I didn’t know about this inspiring real-life story until I heard about filming closures in Chatham on a snowy winter day in 2014 or 2015. I almost played hooky from work for the day to spend it in Chatham, trying to catch a glimpse of the cast.

Read about the riveting tale in The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias.

6. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, 2022

Filming Locations | Hyannis, Yarmouth, Dennis

This heartwarming movie is based on the book of the same name. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry follows A.J. Fikry, a reclusive and grumpy bookstore owner on Alice Island, a fictional Cape Cod island. A.J. recently experienced a significant loss and became disenchanted with life when an unexpected event suddenly changed his entire life for the better.

Even though Alice Island is a fictional place, many other businesses seen in the film are real, such as the British Beer Company (now closed), Cape Cod Jewelers, and several businesses on Main Street in Hyannis.

Parnassus Books in Yarmouth, one of my favorite bookstores on Cape Cod, stood in for the exterior of A.J.’s bookstore.

Movies Filmed on Martha’s Vineyard

7. Jaws, 1975

Filming Locations | Martha’s Vineyard

Probably the most recognizable of all movies filmed on Cape Cod is Jaws, which was filmed almost exclusively on Martha’s Vineyard. I still watch this one at least once every summer, usually at one of the drive-in theaters.

Just in case you don’t know the plot of this movie, a small New England tourist town called Amity Island is catapulted into a frenzy upon the arrival of a giant blood-lusting Great White shark. The town police chief, a scientist, and a salty sea captain set out to capture it in a thrilling chase.

Want to see the exact filming locations yourself? Then & Now Movie Locations will be a great help in finding them.

Jaws II (1978) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987) were also filmed on Martha’s Vineyard.

8. Sabrina, 1995

Filming Locations | Martha’s Vineyard

A romantic comedy-drama about a girl named Sabrina who is in love with a playboy named David, but he’s never paid her any attention. He sure notices her after she returns home from Paris, now a posh young woman, even though he’s engaged.

To save David’s future marriage, his brother seduces Sabrina, and she falls for him instead. He’s in denial of his true feelings for her when he sends her away back to Paris but quickly realizes his mistake and follows her to France to win her back.

9. Stuck On You, 2003

Filming Locations | Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod – aerials and general area

Conjoined twins and Martha’s Vineyard business owners, Bob and Walt couldn’t be more different. One is shy and introverted, while the other is outgoing and friendly. One’s desire to be an actor brings both brothers to Hollywood, obviously, and over time, and after many hijinks and arguments, they decide to get separation surgery.

Movies Filmed on Nantucket

10. One Crazy Summer, 1986

Filming Locations | Nantucket, Barnstable (Hyannis)

This is an often-overlooked movie brimming with all the classic markings that make 80s films so damn good.

An aspiring teenage cartoonist (obviously why there’s a cartoon rhino) who decides to loaf around Nantucket for the summer at a friend’s family summer home. He, of course, falls in love with the first girl he meets while on his way there and spends the summer helping her save her grandfather’s house from “evil” developers.

It has a strong, stereotypical “nerds vs jocks” storyline and all the awkwardness that makes you just a little uncomfortable. Plus, weird interjections of cartoons, several useless scenes that don’t actually move the plot along, and awful character interactions that just make you want to run away.

I’m really making you want to see this movie, huh? Well, you should if you’re really jonesing for a glimpse of the Cape and Islands. The entire movie was filmed on Nantucket and in Hyannis. The elementary school I went to and the building where I spent 6th grade were both featured in the opening scene of the movie, which is always my favorite part to watch.

11. To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, 1996

Filming Locations | Nantucket, Barnstable (Hyannis)

Gillian died in a tragic sailing accident, and years later, her husband is still profoundly grief-stricken. After permanently moving his and his daughter’s life to their summer home on Nantucket, he continues his relationship with an imaginary Gillian while walking along the beach.

On the second anniversary of her death, a gathering of friends and family at the house becomes a moment of reflection for everyone there.

Upcoming Films or TV Shows Being Filmed on Cape Cod

I’ll update this section as I learn of movies or TV shows being filmed in the area.

An upcoming indie drama called “The Weekend on Cape Cod When Everything Changed” will be filmed in locations in Mattapoisett and on Cape Cod in April 2025.

Described as, “the story of a wide-eyed Iranian immigrant who accepts a wedding proposal from her billionaire boss’s son in order to remain in the United States. What starts out as a simple green card wedding becomes much more when her two closest friends arrive with their own boyfriends and cross-cultural baggage in tow.”

Starring Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy, Mall Rats, Dazed and Confused), Kevin Nealon (Weeds, Grandma’s Boy), Medalion Rahimi (NCIS: Los Angeles), Logan Miller (Escape Room), Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Layla Mohammadi (The Persian Version), Nicholas Coombe (The Wilds), newcomer Michael Baszler, and Dalia Rooni (NCIS: Los Angeles), who also wrote the script.

Here is the Cape Cod Times article about it.

Other Movies Filmed on Cape Cod & the Islands

Here are some more movies that were filmed on Cape Cod, plus a few TV shows.

• Rip Van Winkle (series of films), 1896-1903
• Mystery Street, 1950
• The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, 1966
• Where Are The Children, 1986
• Tough Guys Don’t Dance, 1987
• Dad, 1989
• Joe & Joe, 1996
• Massholes, 2000
• Summer Song, 2011
• The Joneses, 2011
• The Grey Lady, 2014
• Betrayed, 2014
• Give or Take, 2020
• Hightown, 2020
• Give or Take, 2020
• American Horror Story: Double Feature, 2021
• The Perfect Couple, 2024

Bonus: Movies and TV Shows about Cape Cod but Not Filmed Here

These famous movies and TV shows were set on Cape Cod but were filmed elsewhere.

Summer Catch, 2001 | A romantic comedy about a local kid playing for the Cape Cod Baseball League, hoping to make it to the majors, and falling in love with a rich girl who summers on the Cape. It was filmed in North Carolina, but I remember the local theater doing something special for the premiere. Maybe? I can’t be sure—I didn’t see it until five years after it was released.

Dawson’s Creek, 1998-2003| This show follows the lives of four teens living in a fictional town called Capeside from high school through college and beyond. I loved this show because I was the same age as the kids on the show, and my hometown inspired Capeside. I knew this because the characters sometimes wore clothes with my high school name and mascot. However, it was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Jumping the Broom, 2010 | More than a romantic comedy-drama, this movie “explores the intersections of class, race, and culture in the United States” (Wikipedia) using the wedding tradition of jumping the broom. It follows the rocky start to a wedding when the couple introduces their families, who couldn’t be more different from each other. Nova Scotia stood in for Martha’s Vineyard.

Sleeping with the Enemy, 1991 | “A young woman [played by Julia Roberts] fakes her death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband” (IMDB). The Cape Cod beach house owned by the controlling husband is in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

Hot Summer Nights, 2017 | According to IMDB, Timothee Chalamet plays “a sheltered teenage boy coming of age in 1991 during a wild summer he spends on Cape Cod getting rich from selling pot to gangsters, falling in love for the first time, partying and eventually realizing that he is in over his head.” It was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, instead of Cape Cod.

The Summer I Turned Pretty, 2022 | A story about a teenage love triangle played out on the shores of Cousins Beach, a fictional Cape Cod town. Based on the popular book of the same name by Jenny Han. Many of the exact locations as Dawson’s Creek were used for filming in Wilmington, North Carolina.

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