The Real New Jersey and New York City Locations Where Netflix’s ‘Little Brother’ Was Shot

Netflix’s newest R-rated comedy ‘Little Brother’ arrived on the platform on June 26, and it did not take long for viewers to start wondering whether the film’s lived-in settings were as real as they appeared on screen. They are. The comedy was filmed primarily across New Jersey, with confirmed locations including Jersey City, Montclair, Madison, Bayonne, and Elizabeth, along with additional scenes filmed in New York City.

‘Little Brother’ stars John Cena and Eric André, and their on-screen chemistry is what helps it stand out among similar comedies. The New Jersey and New York locations that form the film’s backdrop serve that chemistry well, giving the two leads a grounded world to bounce off of rather than a vacuum of artificial studio sets. Understanding where the film was made offers another layer of appreciation for a production that consistently leaned on real environments over manufactured ones.

Where ‘Little Brother’ Principal Photography Took Place

Principal photography for ‘Little Brother’ reportedly began in June 2025 under the working title Untitled Roommates Project. Production continued throughout the summer, with filming taking place across several communities in northern and central New Jersey, along with additional work in New York City. After principal photography wrapped in August 2025, the cast and crew reunited for additional reshoots in January 2026 before the movie entered post-production.

‘Little Brother’ was directed by Matt Spicer from a script by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel, with David Bernad of Middle Child Pictures and Ruben Fleischer producing. Dan Deacon composed the music for the film. The decision to shoot across multiple New Jersey municipalities rather than consolidate at a single studio gave each location a chance to carry narrative weight of its own.

New Jersey has been asserting itself as a serious filmmaking destination, with Netflix having already announced a roughly $848 million film studio in Monmouth County. ‘Little Brother’ was among several Netflix productions shot in the state, alongside upcoming films including ‘The Whisper Man’ and ‘Here Comes the Flood.’ For ‘Little Brother’ specifically, that geographic commitment shaped the texture of almost every scene.

Jersey City’s Role as the Film’s Urban Anchor

Jersey City served as one of the movie’s primary filming hubs. The production made extensive use of the city’s streets and neighborhoods, particularly Jersey City Heights, to capture many of the film’s urban exterior scenes. The Heights offers a skyline backdrop that suggests New York proximity without simply being New York.

One of the most recognizable filming locations was Riverview Fisk Park, located at 498 Palisade Avenue. During production in July 2025, the basketball court inside the park was transformed into a movie set for several important scenes featuring Marcus. The park scenes are among the film’s more visually distinct moments, using an ordinary community space to anchor an otherwise chaotic character dynamic.

The production also spent time around Hamilton Park in Jersey City, another location that helped establish the everyday rhythm of Rudd’s carefully organised world. With its historic streets, elegant townhouses and family-friendly atmosphere, the area creates a sharp contrast to Marcus’s constant disruption. That visual tension between order and upheaval runs through the film’s geography as deliberately as it runs through its script.

The Suburban New Jersey Locations That Defined Rudd’s World

Madison streets were closed on a Friday during production to film a T-bone car crash scene. According to Madison police, the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Brittin Street was closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to shoot the staged collision. The scene reportedly features André’s character driving a blue Chevy Spark before getting hit by a large dump truck.

Just a short distance away, Drew University also appears in the wider Madison filming footprint. Its picturesque campus, lined with historic architecture and tree-filled walkways, adds another layer of visual richness to the movie’s suburban environment. The setting quietly reinforces the polished lifestyle that Rudd has spent years building before Marcus arrives.

The production later moved to Montclair, where several important scenes were filmed, particularly around the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Glenridge Avenue. Montclair’s quiet residential streets and charming downtown helped establish the suburban lifestyle of Rudd Landy before Marcus completely disrupts his carefully planned routine. Montclair’s reputation as a visually dependable stand-in for aspirational northeastern suburbia has made it a recurring choice for productions of this kind, and ‘Little Brother’ uses it with clear intentionality.

New York City and Bayonne Complete the Film’s Geographic Range

Across the Hudson River, production expanded into Manhattan, where several exterior sequences were filmed. These scenes largely focus on Rudd’s professional life as a successful real estate agent, placing him within the fast-moving environment of New York City. Filming was particularly noticeable around Midtown Manhattan, where busy sidewalks, corporate towers and constant movement created the ideal backdrop for Rudd’s career-focused world.

Production also spent time in Bayonne, where one of the most significant locations was Bayonne Medical Center at 29 East 29th Street. The hospital reportedly appears as the medical facility where Marcus is admitted following his accident and where Rudd reunites with him for the first time in decades. Using a functioning medical center rather than a constructed set lends those reunion scenes a credibility that is harder to manufacture on a soundstage.

The filmmakers also spent time filming in Elizabeth, using both downtown streets and historic landmarks. One of the city’s most recognizable filming locations was the Ritz Theatre and Performing Arts Center, located at 1148 East Jersey Street. Elizabeth rounds out a filming footprint that spans nearly the full range of northeastern New Jersey’s architectural and social environments, from upscale suburbs to working-class commercial corridors.

‘Little Brother’ premiered at Paris Theater in Manhattan on June 18, ahead of its global Netflix release on June 26. On Rotten Tomatoes, 58 percent of critics’ reviews are positive. Whatever the critical consensus ultimately settles on, the film’s location work reflects a genuine investment in place, and viewers who have spotted familiar Jersey City parks or Montclair street corners in the background are already making their voices heard on social media. If you recognized a specific neighborhood or landmark from ‘Little Brother,’ share which scene caught your eye and whether it changed how you experienced the film.