Where Was Gremlins Filmed?

The Short Answer

Gremlins was filmed mainly at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank and Universal Studios in Universal City, California. Kingston Falls town square scenes used Universal's Courthouse Square, while Chinatown, Mrs. Deagle's house and interiors were shot at Warner Bros. The Peltzer house exterior stood at the Warner Bros. Ranch, demolished in 2023.

Gremlins, released in 1984 and directed by Joe Dante, tells the story of a small Pennsylvania town overrun by mischievous creatures spawned from a furry pet called a Mogwai. Rather than travel to a real East Coast location, the production built and borrowed nearly everything in the Los Angeles area.

The approach was deliberate. Filming on backlots and sound stages gave the filmmakers the stylized, artificial look they wanted, and it suited the practical puppet effects that bring the gremlins to life. For travelers, that means almost every filming location sits inside two working studios, both of which sell tour tickets.

Filming ran from April 27 to August 3, 1983. Most of what audiences see as Kingston Falls was assembled from existing backlot sets at Warner Bros. and Universal, dressed and redressed to stand in for a Pennsylvania town at Christmas.

Every Location At A Glance

Location	Where	What was filmed	Access
Courthouse Square	Universal City	Kingston Falls town square and main street scenes	Ticketed
Hennessy Street / Chinatown alley and shop	Burbank	Opening Chinatown scene and Mr. Wing's Mogwai shop	Ticketed
Midwest Street / Kings Row (Mrs. Deagle's house)	Burbank	Mrs. Deagle's house and stairlift scene	Ticketed
Colonial Street	Universal City	Residential neighborhood scenes in Kingston Falls	Ticketed
Warner Bros. sound stages (Stages 12, 15, 18, 26)	Burbank	Interior scenes including Peltzer house interiors and gremlin effects	Ticketed
Warner Bros. Ranch Blondie Street (former)	Burbank	Peltzer family house exterior and pool scenes	Closed

Filming Locations Map

6 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

Universal's Courthouse Square doubled as the Kingston Falls town square and main street, the setting for much of the gremlins' chaotic rampage. The set is part of the active Universal backlot and is visible on the Universal Studios Hollywood tour. Film fans may recognize it for another reason: two years later, in 1985, the same square became Hill Valley in Back to the Future. Access is ticketed through the theme park and studio tour.

The film's opening Chinatown sequence, where Rand Peltzer finds the Mogwai in Mr. Wing's shop, was shot on Hennessy Street at Warner Bros. in Burbank. The backlot street remains a working part of the studio and can be seen on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, depending on production schedules. It is one of the more recognizable stops for Gremlins viewers, since the alley retains the same narrow, atmospheric layout seen on screen.

Midwest Street, also known as Kings Row, provided Mrs. Deagle's house, including the infamous stairlift scene. The property sits on the Warner Bros. backlot and appears on the studio tour when not in use by a production. Television fans get a bonus here: the same house served as the Seavers' home in the series Growing Pains. It is a rare case of one address serving two very different pop culture landmarks.

Colonial Street at Universal stood in for the residential streets of Kingston Falls, where the quiet neighborhood gives way to gremlin mayhem. The set sits on the Universal backlot and is included on the studio tour experience at the park. Like Courthouse Square, it has hosted decades of productions, so its dressing changes from year to year. Visitors should expect a familiar layout rather than an exact match to the 1984 film.

The Peltzer house interiors and most of the gremlin effects work were filmed across Warner Bros. sound stages 12, 15, 18 and 26. Working indoors gave the creature shop controlled conditions for the puppets and animatronics. The stages remain in active use, and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour passes through the studio's production facilities, though access to any specific stage depends on what is shooting at the time of a visit.

The Peltzer family house exterior and the pool scenes were filmed on Blondie Street at the Warner Bros. Ranch, a separate facility in Burbank. Unfortunately for location hunters, the ranch was demolished in 2023 and the site is no longer visitable. Travelers hoping to see where Stripe met his end at the pool should adjust expectations: only the footage survives. The other Gremlins locations listed here remain the practical alternatives.

Where It Is Set Versus Where It Was Filmed

The story takes place in Kingston Falls, a fictional town in Pennsylvania, but no filming occurred on the East Coast. Everything was shot on studio backlots and sound stages in the Los Angeles area of California, which the filmmakers preferred for the controlled, theatrical look it provided.

The Studio Side

Two studios carried the production. Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank supplied Hennessy Street, Midwest Street and several sound stages, and today runs the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City provided Courthouse Square and Colonial Street, both seen on its studio tour within the theme park. The former Warner Bros. Ranch, a third site used for exterior house scenes, was demolished in 2023.

Tours That Visit These Locations

Because nearly every surviving location sits behind studio gates, a booked tour is the only practical way to see them. Two ticketed options cover the Warner Bros. side, which holds the Chinatown set, Mrs. Deagle's house and the sound stages used in the film.

Studio Tour With Backlot Stops

Los Angeles: Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

This tour of the Warner Bros. lot includes the Midwest Street backlot, where Mrs. Deagle's house still stands. It carries a 4.6 rating from 8,721 reviews.

4.6 out of 5 · 8,721 reviewsLos Angeles

PriceLive on listingCheck availability

Guided Warner Bros. Backlot Visit

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

A guided visit to the Warner Bros. lot that passes Midwest Street and other working backlot sets from the film, rated 4.6 across 5,668 reviews.

4.6 out of 5 · 5,668 reviewsLos Angeles

PriceLive on listingCheck availability

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you visit the Gremlins filming locations?

Yes. Most locations sit on the Warner Bros. and Universal backlots and can be seen on their respective studio tours with a ticket. The one exception is the Warner Bros. Ranch site, which was demolished in 2023.

Where was Kingston Falls supposed to be?

Kingston Falls is a fictional town in Pennsylvania. The production never left California, filming entirely on backlots and sound stages in the Los Angeles area.

Which studio has more Gremlins locations?

Warner Bros. in Burbank holds the most, including Hennessy Street for the Chinatown scenes, Midwest Street for Mrs. Deagle's house, and the sound stages used for interiors and creature effects.

Is the Gremlins town square the same as Hill Valley?

Yes. Courthouse Square at Universal, used for Kingston Falls in Gremlins, became Hill Valley in Back to the Future in 1985 and can be viewed on the Universal Studios Hollywood tour.

When was Gremlins filmed?

Principal photography ran from April 27 to August 3, 1983, almost entirely on sound stages and backlots. The film was released in 1984.

Is the Peltzer house still standing?

The exterior, located at the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, was demolished along with the rest of the ranch in 2023. The pool scenes were shot there too, so no physical site remains.

Gremlins belongs to that group of films whose locations are unusually easy to see, provided you buy a studio tour ticket. Warner Bros. covers the Chinatown opening and Mrs. Deagle's house, Universal covers the town square, and one location is sadly gone. For fans of classic Hollywood studio filmmaking, either tour pairs the film with plenty of other familiar sets along the way.