From Budapest to Derb Omar – Where Matchbox: The Movie was filmed

Principal photography commenced in January 2025 in Budapest, with the Hungarian capital serving as the production's European base through February. On February 9, the Chain Bridge – the iconic suspension bridge spanning the Danube between Buda and Pest – was closed to traffic for filming, with John Cena on set and entertaining crowds that had gathered along the embankments to watch.

The Chain Bridge sequence was the production's most spectacular Budapest moment. A helicopter hovered low over the Chain Bridge, with a stunt performer dramatically hanging onto the helicopter's landing skids. The breathtaking action drew crowds along the embankments, where many stopped to watch and capture the scene. Additionally, major houseboats had to temporarily move from the embankment area to accommodate the shoot.

The production also filmed interior shots at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest.

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The schedule progressed to Morocco in March 2025, where scenes were captured across a remarkable range of environments – from urban density to geological drama to open Saharan sand.

In Casablanca, the production filmed specifically in Derb Omar – a densely commercial district in the heart of the city's medina. 

Gara Medouar – also known as Jebel Mudawwar or the "round mountain" – is a horseshoe-shaped geological formation in the Errachidia Province of southeastern Morocco. It has been used as a filming location since The Mummy in 1999 – Spectre used it in 2015 as the headquarters of the Bond villain – and Matchbox now joins a significant list. Confirmed via sceen-it.com as a Matchbox: The Movie filming location, its desert road and rocky terrain are tagged under the production's Moroccan chapter.

Erfoud and Merzouga extend the desert chapter further south. Merzouga is the gateway to Erg Chebbi – the great sand dune field of southeastern Morocco, its rolling dunes and vast horizons providing landscape sequences.

The production moved to the Žilina region in Slovakia in early April 2025 to film high-speed action on sections of the D1 and D3 highways, including the Hričovské Podhradie–Lietavská Lúčka stretch and the Žilina and Ovčiarsko tunnels. A closed section of Slovakia's D1 motorway outside the northern city of Žilina hosted the high-speed stunts and dramatic explosions. 

After wrapping in Slovakia, the production concluded in Los Angeles, where the film's American scenes were completed. The city's studio infrastructure and experienced stunt and VFX crews gave the production a controlled environment to finish what four countries had started.

Matchbox: The Movie premieres on Apple TV+ on October 9, 2026.