A car exploding on film is simply fun. Anyone who doesn’t like to see a car engulfed in flame is a liar, even if a fiery explosion isn’t typically realistic. You might be surprised just how many cars have been destroyed on set, as serial Fast and Furious director, Justin Lin, explained, “When you see one car get hit, there are actually six to eight [versions] of them.”
Here are the 11 movies that destroyed the most cars. Quick note, get used to seeing the Fast and Furious franchise on this list.
11. 2 Fast 2 Furious – 130 cars
To kick us off we have the second entrant into the long-running franchise, 2 Fast 2 Furious. This film destroyed 130 cars throughout its production which makes sense given their crazy physics defying feats. Not bad for arguably one of the worst films in the franchise though it did up the car kill count from the first film’s 78 cars.
10. A Good Day to Die Hard – 132 cars
While basically every Die Hard entry after the first one are unnecessary, at least the fifth entry brought something to the table – a bunch of totalled cars. They blew up G-Wagen’s, Unimog’s, E65 BMW 7’s, and a custom-built military truck known as the “MRAP.” Is it worth watching for the vehicular carnage alone? The 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the cancelled sequel suggest otherwise.
9. The Junkman – 150 cars
Film buffs may be aware of the classic Gone in 60 Seconds, but while that doesn’t make this list, director, H.B. Halicki’s second film in his car trilogy, The Junkman, racked up an impressive 150 cars destroyed. Halicki allegedly used some cars from his own collection in the film, but we don’t know if any of those were destroyed. For his sake, we hope not.
8. Fast & Furious – 190 cars
The second contender for worst Fast and Furious film, the confusingly named fourth entry, Fast & Furious, destroyed 190 cars in its production. Was it worth it? Considering the longevity of franchise, we’d say so.
7. Furious 7 – 230 cars
You know that scene where they fall out of the plane in fully-built customised cars? Yeah, they really tossed out real cars out of a cargo plane for a few minutes of footage. If a film is willing to do that, then it’s no surprise that the kill count on this one is so high, but oh, it still isn’t the last film in the franchise on this list.
6. The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift – 249 cars
This incredibly cheesy but arguably best film the franchise destroyed 249 real cars. While we know the devastation of Han’s car towards the end of the film, it isn’t as action packed and crazy as the later movies. So where did this kill count come from? Best guess is that drifting is hard and mistakes will be made.
5. Fast Five – 260 cars
This makes complete sense as the fifth instalment moves away from being purely about cars and street racing into a more action heavy heist movie. It might very well be the best in the franchise so the 260 cars destroyed in its production were well worth it.
4. The Matrix Reloaded – 300 cars
You might be thinking, “There aren’t that many cars in The Matrix Reloaded?” That’s true, but there is a highway chase scene with a lot of real cars lent by General Motors, which were destroyed in a variety of creative ways. Worth it as it’s one of the best scenes in the movie.
3. Fate of the Furious – 348 cars
They love blowing up cars, but even at 348, it still isn’t the top spot. Plus they also destroyed a submarine in this one, but unfortunately, that doesn’t count.
2. Fast & Furious 6 – 350 cars
This is the last Fast movie on the list, but at number two, were kind of shocked. What much else is there to say other than the Fast franchise just loves destroying cars.
1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon – 532 cars
It’s surprising that this is the first Transformers film on the list, because, you know, they turn into cars (sometimes). The third film in the franchise, Dark of the Moon, totalled 532 cars as confirmed by Guinness World Records. It makes sense, the whole city of Chicago turns into a warzone rather than the single city street seen in the climax of the first film.
