Courtesy of Lürssen
From the battered trawler Orca in Jaws to the dinghy where Fredo spent his lonely final moments in The Godfather Part II, boats have been integral to myriad Hollywood blockbusters as props, locations, or narrative devices. But now it seems the not-so-humble superyacht, specifically, is ready for its close-up, with sprawling vessels being given more substantive character arcs in everything from chart-topping music videos to TV series. Here, a handful that helped carry their respective productions.
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‘Whisper’ | ‘6 Underground’
Image Credit: Guillaume Plisson/Pier Paolo Todaro/Alamy You don’t often see a 312-foot yacht blown to pieces, but that’s exactly what director Michael Bay inflicts upon Whisper (née Kismet) in his action-packed thriller 6 Underground starring Ryan Reynolds. It was all movie magic, of course; in reality, much care was taken to protect everything down to the teak decks during filming of the many shoot-outs and explosions.
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‘Christina O’ | ‘Triangle of Sadness’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Canadian Vickers/Everett Collection Few yachts are as famous as the actors being filmed on board, but then few yachts compare to the 325-foot Christina O. While the pirate attacks and numerous deaths in Ruben Östlund’s 2022 dark comedy Triangle of Sadness never actually happened aboard Aristotle Onassis’s renowned pleasure craft, it was certainly the real-life setting for wild fetes among the world’s glitterati.
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‘Planet Nine’ | ‘Tenet’
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Everett Collection Superyachts are often portrayed as safe havens, and the 240-foot luxury ice-breaker Planet Nine made the perfect hideout for the villain in Christopher Nolan’s enigmatic sci-fi film Tenet. Of course, rocket launchers had to be added to the decks to lend the desired military aesthetic. Also included in the movie’s $200 million budget: the use of a stunning Riva 33 Aquariva Super and two F50 foiling catamarans.
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‘Solandge’ | ‘Succession’
The estimated value of the Roy family’s empire on HBO’s Succession is around $18 billion, and nothing illustrates the clan’s lavish existence as much their yacht, played by the 279-foot Solandge. Scenes including flashy helicopter landings, luxury tenders, and sundeck pool parties add a dose of verisimilitude for a yacht with a real-life charter rate of about $1.1 million per week, plus expenses.
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‘Coral Ocean’ | “Sticky”
Image Credit: Jeff Brown As a devotee of extravagance, singer Drake stayed true to his reputation when choosing the 238-foot Coral Ocean as a backdrop for his 2022 music video for “Sticky” from his seventh album, Honestly, Nevermind. The artist was so enamored with the 1994 Lürssen build, which completed a $35 million refit two years ago, that he booked a $660,000 charter afterward, documenting his escapades on social media.
