5 big budget films that took over Toronto

The star-studded DC Comic film Suicide Squad has taken over Yonge-Dundas Square, parts of the Lake Shore and will be shutting down a section of Yonge Street next week.

But the Will Smith and Jared Leto fronted blockbuster isn’t the first big budget production to close down streets and redesign Hollywood North.

Here are five other big budget films that took over the GTA:

The Incredible Hulk: In September of 2008, filming of The Incredible Hulk shut down a section of Yonge Street for a massive fight scene between the great green one and Abomination. Taking the place of Harlem, Yonge Street was shut down from Queen Street to Gerrard as the Hulk flattened cars and caused mass destruction while running past Sam the Record Man and the Zanzibar. The film, staring Edward Norton, William Hurt, Tim Roth and Liv Tyler, also set several scenes at University of Toronto over the summer.

Total Recall (2012): For two weekends in the summer of 2011, the Total Recall remake shut down Lake Shore Boulevard, causing driver frustration and heavy traffic backlog on alternate routes in and out of the downtown core. The Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale film took six months to shoot and has been touted as the most expensive film ever made in Toronto. Other locations included University of Toronto and parts of the financial district.

Pixels: The Adam Sandler video game flick Pixels took over most of the financial district last summer so that Pac-Man could come to earth and attack. Filming evenings and on weekends, the sci-fi action comedy shut down Bay Street from Wellesley Street to Grosvenor Street for several weeks over a three month period.

Hairspray: Roncesvalles was transformed into 1960s Baltimore for the musical comedy Hairspray. The film, a remake of the John Waters classic, stared John Travolta, Zac Efron and Queen Latifah. Dundas Street West and Roncesvalles Avenue became the home of several locations in the film including the Hardy Har Hut and Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway, and was the backdrop for most of the outdoor scenes.

Robocop: Futuristic Detroit looked a lot like Toronto in this 2014 remake. Despite a large part of the filming taking place in studios around the city, the remake of the 1984 classic also filmed on weekends at University of Toronto (which was transformed into Detroit Police Headquarters) and in Hamilton. Several downtown streets were also closed during filming so the half-man half robot hero could zip around on his motorcycle.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: A rarity on this list, Scott Pilgrim was not only filmed in Toronto but actually took place in our fair city. Filmed across many well known neighbourhoods, a number of prominent scenes were set in The Annex and featured several Bloor and Bathurst haunts such as Lee’s Palace and Sonic Boom. As well, Casa Loma played host to an epic battle between Scott (Michael Cera) and Lucas Lee (Chris Evans).