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Productions filmed in the Bay of Plenty

We are proud to present a gallery of successful international and local productions that have chosen Bay of Plenty as a filming destination.

International productions

productions filmed in bay of plenty prehistoric planet

Prehistoric Planet (2020)

Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas and skies. Starring David Attenborough.

Film Bay of Plenty assisted in locating the NZ location which was specific in needing ferns backed by tall ancient trees. Whirinaki was the perfect place with Kawerau District Council, DOC and local Iwi all assisting in allowing the production to film in this amazing area.

Prehistoric Planet is a British-American five-part nature documentary streaming television series about dinosaurs that premiered on Apple TV+ beginning May 23, 2022.

It is produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit with Jon Favreau as showrunner, visual effects by MPC, and narration by natural historian David Attenborough.

Show

TV Mini Series

Filming Locations

Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park

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productions filmed in bay of plenty mulan

Mulan (2019)

A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father.
Mulan was one of the most expensive productions ever made and was filmed in NZ. According to Condé Nast Traveler, the scene where Mulan meets the powerful witch, Xian Lang, was filmed on a soundstage. However, this geothermal sulphuric landscape is inspired by Whakaari / White Island.

Studio & Budget

Walt Disney | $200 Million

Filming Locations

White Island (Whakaari)

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productions filmed in bay of plenty Petes dragon

Pete’s Dragon (2016)

The adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who happens to be a dragon.

The forest scenes for Disney’s Pete’s Dragon were shot in a forestry area near Rotorua and Tokoroa in the Central North Island. The forest is home to giant Californian Redwoods, which made it the perfect double for America. Three days was also spent filming in a house on the outskirts of Rotorua (Ngongotahā), with cast and crew based largely in Rotorua during the duration of the shoot.

Studio & Budget

Walt Disney | $65 Million

Filming Locations

Whakarewarewa Forest – The Redwoods
McLaren Falls
Ngongotaha

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productions filmed in bay of plenty yogi bear

Yogi Bear (2010)

A documentary filmmaker travels to Jellystone Park to shoot a project and soon crosses paths with Yogi Bear, his sidekick Boo-Boo and Ranger Smith.

Rotorua and Taupō hotels were used as Production Hubs and to house around 200 crew. Filming was at a number of central locations such as Whakamaru Lake and Aratiatia Rapids. Local crew managed much of the safety of the raft shots at the rapids.

Studio & Budget

Warner Bros | $80 Million

Filming Locations

Aratiatia Rapids
Rotorua District

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productions filmed in bay of plenty chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader.
Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world. The scene where the volcanic island on which Eustace discovers a horde of gold which turns out to have unexpected properties, is Whakaari / White Island. The steaming smoking island location was used for second unit shots.

Studio & Budget

Walt Disney | $155 Million

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Filming Locations

White Island (Whakaari)

productions filmed in bay of plenty boy

Boy (2010)

Boy, an 11-year-old child and devout Michael Jackson fan who lives on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, gets a chance to know his absentee criminal father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.
The movie was written and directed by Taika Waititi (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) and shot in Waihau Bay, with Waititi’s grandmother’s house used as a main set-piece. The marae housed many of the actors during filming, with locals involved in the production as extras.

Filming Locations

Waihau Bay
East Cape

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productions filmed in bay of plenty without a paddle

Without a Paddle (2004)

After their friend dies, three men decide to fulfill their childhood dream by going on a camping expedition for the lost D. B. Cooper bounty, with calamitous results.
This comedy movie was filmed using North Island locations exclusively for their depiction of an Oregon river rafting trip. Bay of Plenty locations were Rotorua, Huka Falls and the Waikato River in Taupo. It was also the first film to qualify for the NZSPG (New Zealand Screen Production Grant).

Studio & Budget

Paramount & De Line | $19 Million

Filming Locations

Rotorua District

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Local productions

productions filmed in bay of plenty muru

muru (2022)

A dramatisation inspired by actual events, MURU is the story of a local Police Sergeant ‘Taffy’ Tawharau (Cliff Curtis), who must choose between his badge and his people, when the Government launches an armed raid through his Rūātoki community, on a school day.

Film Bay of Plenty assisted in locations, finding crew, equipment and services, creating connections with iwi, councils and Government entities.

Show

Film

Filming Locations

Te Urewera in Eastern Bay of Plenty
Tāneatua
Rūātoki

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productions filmed in bay of plenty vegas

vegas (2021)

On one blood-stained night a drug deal gone wrong sets off a chain of events for dangerous factions and an innocent bystander, in this action thriller set in the small tourist town of Wairoto.

Film Bay of Plenty were key in helping with locations, crew, sourcing a production hub and accommodation for the crew. Vegas needed a studio so we established White St Studio and supported the Tohea Programme which allowed 20 rangitahi to be trained on set.

Show & Budget

TV Series | NZ$5.6 Million

Filming Locations

Rotorua District
Copthorne Bar
White St Studios
TECT Terrain Park Western Bay

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Runaway Millionaires (2019)

Runaway Millionaires is the gripping true story of Kara Hurring and Leo Gao, an ordinary New Zealand Rotorua couple who went on the run after $10 million was mistakenly deposited into their account.

Film Bay of Plenty assisted the production locally with helping find locations and crew, and linking them to local service providers in the region. There were 40 base crew and 30 cast.

Show & Budget

Film | NZ$2.7 Million

Filming Locations

Rotorua District

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Saviour

Premiered as part of the Best of NZ at NZIFF (NZ International Film Festival) 2022 and filmed at Rotoruas stunning Lake Ōkataina

Show

Short Film

Filming Locations

Lake Ōkataina

Cousins (2021)

Connected by blood but separated by circumstances, three cousins spend a lifetime in search of each other. Based on the 1992 novel by Patricia Grace.

A number of Rotorua shooting locations were used in the film and casting of the main characters and extras was all done locally.

Ainsley Gardiner (Producer) says “it’s always rewarding and that one of the coolest things when you make a film is going back to the community and showing it with them, so it was great to have the premiere in Rotorua.  We had such a lovely time in Rotorua, it was really special being there and filming in the community.” There was also amazing talent found in the area, with beautiful, talented children’

Show

Film

Filming Locations

Rotorua District – Kerosine Creek

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Colonial Combat (2019)

Filmed at Lake Rotoiti, lake Rotoma, Wai iti stream used local crew and interns, stayed at a local Marae. Crew size around 40.
Film Bay of Plenty worked with the producers to help facilitate finding the resources they needed as well as crew and wardrobe interns. We also promoted the series through social media and our regular newsletters.

Show

TV Series

Filming Locations

Rotorua District
Lake Rotoiti
Lake Rotoma
Waiiti Stream

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Rain of the Children (2008)

A woman walks between the worlds of the living and the dead in search of her lost children.

Many Tuhoe descendants played parts, recreating scenes their ancestors had experienced.

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Show

Film

Filming Locations

Tūhoe country in Te Urewera Ranges