Where Was The Believers Filmed?

The Short Answer

The Believers was filmed mainly in Toronto, Canada, including at Magder Studios in Scarborough and Toronto City Hall. The story is set in New York, but the production moved north in 1986 to cut costs, and only about 10 minutes of footage was actually shot on location in New York City. One surviving New York site is the former RKO Bushwick Theatre in Brooklyn, now a school.

John Schlesinger's 1987 occult thriller The Believers presents itself as a New York story. Cal Jamison, a widowed psychologist played by Martin Sheen, investigates a string of child deaths linked to Santería rituals, and the film moves through Manhattan streets and brownstones as the conspiracy deepens. The production had a reported $16 million budget, but it found a way to spend less.

Principal photography ran from June 5 to September 28, 1986. By relocating the shoot to Toronto and taking advantage of favorable currency exchange rates, the filmmakers reduced the budget to roughly $13 million. The trade-off: Toronto stands in for New York throughout most of the picture. The end credits acknowledge filming at Magder Studios in Canada and on location in both New York and Toronto.

Every Location At A Glance

Location	Where	What was filmed	Access
RKO Bushwick Theatre	Brooklyn, United States	Abandoned theater scenes with candles and ritual elements	Outside only
Toronto City Hall	Toronto, Canada	Fundraiser scene	Free to see

Filming Locations Map

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Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

This Brooklyn theater, abandoned at the time of filming, hosted the scenes with candles and ritual elements. Its decayed interior gave the production an authentic backdrop for the film's darker ceremonies. Today the building houses the Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology, so only the exterior can be seen. The facade is preserved, and visitors walking by at 40.6934, -73.9201 in Bushwick can still recognize the structure from the film's establishing shots.

The fundraiser scene in The Believers was shot at Toronto City Hall, the modernist complex designed by Viljo Revell. It doubles as a New York venue in the finished film. The building remains a public space, accessible during business hours, and visitors can walk through the podium and view the distinctive curved towers and plaza. Located downtown at 43.6534, -79.3841, it is easy to combine with other film locations around the city.

Where It Is Set Versus Where It Was Filmed

The Believers is set in New York City, with some references to Minneapolis, where Cal Jamison previously worked. Almost none of that New York setting was captured on screen in New York itself. The production shot only about 10 minutes of location footage in the city, while the vast majority of the film was lensed in Toronto. Canadian streets, interiors, and municipal buildings stand in for their New York counterparts throughout.

The Studio Side

Interior work and soundstage scenes were handled at Magder Studios in Scarborough, Canada, now known as Commercial Studios. The facility is credited in the film's end titles and served as the production's Toronto base during the 1986 shoot. It is a working studio complex and not open to the public, so there is nothing for travelers to visit on site.

Tours That Visit These Locations

Travelers who want to see where The Believers was filmed can do so in Toronto, where the bulk of the shooting happened. One available option covers the city's screen locations.

Toronto Film Locations Tour

Toronto: TV & Movie Tour with University of Toronto Visit

This TV and movie tour of Toronto, priced at $161, includes a stop at Toronto City Hall, where The Believers filmed its fundraiser scene, along with a visit to the University of Toronto. It is the most direct way to see the city that doubled for New York throughout the film.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Was The Believers filmed in New York City?

Only partially. About 10 minutes of footage was shot on location in New York City, including scenes at the abandoned RKO Bushwick Theatre in Brooklyn. The rest of the film was shot in Toronto.

Why did the production move to Toronto?

Favorable currency exchange rates allowed the filmmakers to reduce the budget from a reported $16 million to $13 million. Principal photography ran from June 5 to September 28, 1986.

Can you visit Toronto City Hall from the film?

Yes. Toronto City Hall is a public building accessible during business hours. The fundraiser scene in The Believers was filmed there.

Is the RKO Bushwick Theatre still standing?

Yes, but it is no longer a theater. The building now houses the Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology, and only the preserved exterior can be seen.

Can you visit Magder Studios?

No. Magder Studios in Scarborough, now called Commercial Studios, is a working facility and not open to the public.

Is there a tour of The Believers filming locations?

There is no dedicated tour for this film. A Toronto TV and movie tour that includes Toronto City Hall covers one of the film's key sites and many other screen locations in the city.

The Believers rewards location hunters more in Toronto than in New York, which is the reverse of what the film suggests on screen. Toronto City Hall is freely visitable, the Bushwick theater exterior survives in Brooklyn, and a city film tour ties the Toronto sites together. For a 1987 thriller, the paper trail is unusually clear: the credits themselves tell you where to look.