The short answer: Grand Central Terminal has absolutely been used as a real movie location. But the old version of this page claimed 20 films and mixed together actual shoots, nearby streets, a connected subway station, digital recreations and several movies that were not filmed there at all.
So I did the annoying thing and checked the list movie by movie.
These are the titles I can actually defend.
North by Northwest (1959)
Hitchcock really used Grand Central. Roger Thornhill heads there after the United Nations murder and boards the 20th Century Limited for Chicago.
The terminal is not decorative trivia here. It is part of the actual escape.
Superman (1978)
Production records confirm brief filming at Grand Central Terminal during the New York portion of Superman.
The old article got too cute by turning that into a specific claim about Lex Luthor’s underground lair. The safe fact is simpler: Grand Central was one of the movie’s real New York locations.
The Cotton Club (1984)
Grand Central appears in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club, including the ending involving the Twentieth Century Limited.
This one stays.
Midnight Run (1988)
Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin pass through Grand Central while trying to get from New York to Los Angeles.
There is even a nerdy transportation footnote: Amtrak really did use Grand Central at the time, so the scene was not the rail-history mistake it might look like now.
The Fisher King (1991)
The famous waltz sequence is the easy one.
Terry Gilliam turned Grand Central into a giant dreamlike ballroom as Robin Williams follows Amanda Plummer through the crowd. The sequence was shot in the terminal in a single night.
Carlito’s Way (1993)
Brian De Palma used Grand Central for the climactic chase and escalator gunfight.
This is one of the strongest entries on the list because the production history specifically discusses timing trains and staging the finale in the terminal.
Men in Black (1997)
Men in Black used Grand Central during the alien chase sequence before the action jumps geographically toward the Guggenheim.
The movie’s geography is nonsense. The filming location is not.
Armageddon (1998)
Grand Central was one of the New York locations used in Michael Bay’s asteroid disaster movie.
The old article invented a specific Bruce Willis farewell scene there. I could verify the location, not that description, so the description is gone.
Unfaithful (2002)
Location records for Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful include Grand Central Terminal among its New York shoots.
The previous version specifically claimed a Whispering Gallery scene. I could verify Grand Central as a filming location, but not enough evidence for that exact flourish, so I am not pretending otherwise.
Arthur (2011)
The Russell Brand remake filmed the scenes where Arthur first meets Naomi during her tour, plus their first date, at Grand Central Terminal.
That is much better evidence than “I vaguely remember Russell Brand being near a train.”
The Avengers (2012)
This one needs an asterisk the size of Hulk.
The Battle of New York is visually centered around Grand Central and Park Avenue, but most of the large-scale action was recreated in Cleveland and Albuquerque or built digitally. Location records do support some second-unit filming inside Grand Central itself.
So yes, Grand Central was part of the shoot. No, Chris Evans was not spending three weeks personally fighting aliens in the Main Concourse.
What I Removed From the Old List
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
The initial hijack sequence used the Grand Central–42 Street subway station on the 7 line. That is connected to the Grand Central complex, but it is not the same claim as filming inside the Terminal’s Main Concourse. The old page also falsely said the movie was set almost entirely inside Grand Central.
Friends with Benefits (2011)
This is exactly why filming-location lists become a mess. The story uses Grand Central, but contemporary production reporting says the key romantic Grand Central sequence was actually shot at Los Angeles Union Station.
The Untouchables (1987)
The famous staircase shootout was filmed at Chicago Union Station, not Grand Central. That old entry was simply wrong.
In the Heights (2021)
The documented major locations are in Washington Heights, Highbridge Pool and the abandoned lower level of Brooklyn’s Ninth Avenue subway station. I found no credible support for the old claim of a Grand Central dance sequence.
Men of Honor (2000)
Production records point to Washington, Oregon and California locations. Grand Central does not belong in this list.
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
This one was shot largely in Mexico City with Beverly Hills and Los Angeles locations. Grand Central was apparently invited by the old article without being invited by the film.
The Dark Half (1993)
George Romero shot this around Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania. There is no Grand Central case to make.
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The production used plenty of New York locations, but the documented list points to places such as Little Italy, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Waldorf and Atlantic City—not Grand Central.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
The sequel filmed across England, South Africa, Italy, South Korea, Bangladesh and parts of New York State. I found no defensible evidence for the old claim that Grand Central was used as another battleground.
Grand Central Is Still a Movie Star
Grand Central does not need 20 invented credits.
It already has Hitchcock, De Palma, Gilliam, Coppola, Superman, aliens, an asteroid, Robert De Niro twice and one very complicated Avengers footnote.
That is enough résumé for a train terminal.
Source note: Grand Central maintains a formal film-permit program. For the individual titles, I cross-checked production histories and location records, including detailed New York location documentation for Midnight Run, Armageddon and Unfaithful, rather than treating “the movie shows Grand Central” as proof that the actors were actually standing there.