Skyscrapers are frequently featured in films for their impressive appearance and potent symbolism. They convey an impression of power – an old movie and TV cliché starts with the outside view of a skyscraper with a voice-over conversation, continuing inside the luxurious office of a tycoon or crime boss. Skyscrapers' tight security and isolation from the rest of the city makes them ideal for dramatic crisis and trap situations including hostage-taking, heists and fire. Skyscrapers and other large landmarks also feature prominently in disaster films, where they are destroyed as a show of the power of nature or invaders.

Real skyscrapers

This is a list of actual skyscrapers that have a noticeable role as themselves in films, sorted by chronological building order. (See also: list of skyscrapers.)

Empire State Building (New York City 1931)

Etihad Towers (Abu Dhabi 2011)

World Trade Center (New York City 1973)

Chrysler Building (New York City 1930)

MetLife Building (New York City 1963)

Capitol Records Building (Los Angeles 1956)

Sunset Vine Tower (Los Angeles 1966)

Tour Montparnasse (Paris 1973)

Two International Finance Centre (Hong Kong 2003)

Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur 1998)

John Hancock Center (Chicago 1988)

Taipei 101 (Taipei 2004)

Terminal Tower (Cleveland 1930)

BP Tower (Cleveland 1985)

U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles 1990)

Rialto Tower (Melbourne 1986)

Sydney Tower (Sydney 1981)

Burj Khalifa (Dubai 2010)

Woolworth Building (New York City 1913)

Willis Tower (Chicago 1973)

One Canada Square (London 1991)

Fictional skyscrapers

This is a list of named fictional skyscrapers that have a noticeable role in films (including notable science-fiction and fantasy), sorted by chronological filming order. In some cases, an actual building stands for the fictional one; in others, they are created using elaborate miniature models.

New Tower of Babel (Metropolis)

Seacoast National Bank Building (New York City)

Wynand Building (New York City)

Glass Tower (and Peerless Building) (San Francisco)

Tyrell Corporation Headquarters (Los Angeles)

Nakatomi Plaza (Los Angeles)

Art Land's Galaxy Hotel (Las Vegas)

Galactic Senate Building 500 Republica (Coruscant)

Scolex Industries

MNU Building (Johannesburg)

Fiddler's Green

Clamp Centre

The Zitex Building

Stark Tower

OCP Tower

Tower Sky

Millennium Building

The Pearl (Hong Kong)

Beika City Building