MS Amlin analysis finds films repeatedly destroy the same global landmarks

New research by the insurance firm MS Amlin compiles which landmarks are most often destroyed in films, highlighting how moving-image disaster sequences repeatedly target the same global sites. The Guardian notes that the trailer for Greenland 2 includes shots of a half‑blown up Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower listing over, and that the sequel itself arrives after the first film ended with the world destroyed.

The piece lists previous on-screen destructions of the Eiffel Tower in Armageddon, Mars Attacks!, Team America: World Police, Category 7: The End of the World, Aftermath: Population Zero, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and of the Sydney Opera House in X‑Men: Apocalypse, Godzilla: Final Wars and Mega Shark vs Mecha Shark.

According to the MS Amlin compilation cited by The Guardian, Big Ben has been destroyed at least nine times, in films such as Reign of Fire, V for Vendetta, London Has Fallen, Flood, Gorgo and Tom & Jerry: The Fast and the Furry. The Golden Gate Bridge has been wrecked at least 13 times, including in Superman, San Andreas, Terminator: Genisys, Pacific Rim, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus and It Came from Beneath the Sea.

Key Topics

Culture, Ms Amlin, Golden Gate Bridge, Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House