Where was the first and second Christmas Chronicles filmed?
In 2018 Netflix released The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell. In 2020, the sequel was released. I’ve seen both films this year, and I was very excited about them. Now I want to answer the question: where was The Christmas Chronicles filmed? Well, I found out it was mostly in Canada! And let me tell you where.
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The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
The Christmas Chronicles takes place mainly in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Chicago, Illinois, but the majority of the film was filmed in Toronto at Pinewood Studios and throughout the city.
For Canadians, this film will be fun as some of the film locations are clearly in Canada. Whether it’s a car chase, a prison sentence or a touching conversation between two characters, Canada looked so good in this film!
The film opens with Santa Claus crashing his sled in Chicago. The scene is actually filmed in Hamilton, Ontario.
Downtown Toronto:
When Santa chases his reindeer, he does so in a Dodge Challenger peeling through the streets of Downtown Toronto! You’ll see several stores along Bloor St. W., including Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton. The Rexall Pharmacy on the corner of Yonge St. and Richmond is also on display, as well as the Elgin & Winter Garden and Pantages tents on Yonge St. Louis.
As Santa continues to chase the reindeer, you can see him making hard turns at Bay and Bloor, as well as Cumberland and Bay. Kate Pierce finds some escaped reindeer in a parking lot at Pearl St. Peter’s. The Windsor Arms Hotel is also visible as the car chase in Yorkville comes to an end. The police catch up with Santa Claus at Temperance St., where you could see Cloud Gardens in the background.
Now those are plenty of locations in Downtown Toronto!
Specific places
Here are some specific places where they filmed The Christmas Chronicles for certain scenes:
- Cathedral Church of St. James: Teddy and Kate share a moment outside a church, which happens to be St. James on King St. E. in Toronto, Ontario.
- Calgary & Vancouver skylines: When the children of Santa and Pierce deliver gifts, you will see the skylines of Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia appearing in the movies.
- St. James’s Gate Nick’s Place: One of the first stops in this Christmas adventure movie is Nick’s Place, where Santa Claus and the kids try to get a ride to their destination. It was filmed in an Irish pub called St. James’s Gate in Etobicoke, Ontario. Also, my name is Nick. A reason more to love this bar’s name.
Movie Review – The Christmas Chronicles
The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)
The Christmas Chronicles saga returns for the holidays with a new film featuring Kurt Russell again as Santa Claus. In addition, Goldie Hawn is Mrs. Claus. However, now they have to face troublemaker elf Belsnickel, who threatens to cancel Christmas forever.
The resort
While most of this festive film was filmed in the studios near Vancouver, at one point, the story takes us to the beautiful Riviera Maya in Mexico. There is no doubt that the filmmakers made a good decision by having half the crew come to the Caribbean instead of staying in Canada with a hot cup of tea, relying on virtual sets and green screens.
Let’s take a look at this beautiful movie location, the Mexican resort that can be seen in The Christmas Chronicles 2. So where was The Christmas Chronicles 2 filmed during the sunny scenes? Well, the hotel where the Pierce family spend their vacations listening is the beautiful Fairmont Mayakoba. It’s located just outside Playa del Carmen, 30 miles from Cancun. On top of it, this is a luxury resort. It’s also the five times winner of the American Automobile Association – AAA Diamond Award.
The resort boasts 240 acres of tropical forest, mosquito rich waterways, and crystal clear lagoons, with its own coastline of beautiful sun-drenched white sand beaches. The Fairmont Mayakoba has in total 401 guest rooms, including 34 delightful suites, a seafood restaurant, sushi bar, pool bar, fitness center, and spa. On top of that, the whole complex is car-free and you have to reach the different parts by boat, on foot or by bike.
Vancouver
Most of The Christmas Chronicles 2 was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Vancouver, the eighth busiest city in Canada, is a popular film location for many, with nearly 10,000 films and TV shows filmed.
While a number of scenes were filmed in and around the city itself, much of the film was shot at Burnaby’s Mammoth Studios, which is located east of downtown Vancouver.
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