Amazon Prime’s top 3 original comedies were all shot in metro Atlanta

Credit: Glen Wilson

Credit: Glen Wilson

All three films were shot in Georgia.

“You’re Cordially Invited,” which debuted Jan. 30, was the No. 1 movie its first week of release on the Nielsen chart and stayed in the top 10 for three weeks. It was shot at Shadowbox Studios in Atlanta and Lake Oconee.

Deadline said “You’re Cordially Invited” has been viewed more than 50 million times worldwide over the past four plus months.

Its popularity belies the so-so response from critics and viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 47% positive record and among viewers, an even worse 34%.

The premise is pure rom-com: Ferrell’s character’s daughter and Witherspoon’s sister are double-booked for weddings at the same small island venue, and they go after each other in increasingly ridiculous ways. Director Nicholas Stoller previously did films like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Neighbors.” He also previously filmed “Neighbors 2″ in metro Atlanta.

Amazon recently wrapped two films in the area. There’s the biopic “Madden,” in which Nicolas Cage plays John Madden, the blustery former NFL coach and on-air commentator.

And both Stoller and Ferrell are back with the comedy “Judgment Day,” which also just finished production in metro Atlanta. Ferrell plays a reality show judge who is taken hostage on air by a disgruntled man who blames him for his life spiraling into incarceration. The movie also features Regina Hall, Zac Efron, Billy Eichner, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Bobby Cannavale and Fortune Feimster.

Amazon last year also shot the Kevin Bacon mashup comedy drama “The Bondsman” in metro Atlanta, out of Raleigh Studios in Senoia.

Despite a positive critical response and an appearance in the Nielsen top 10 original streaming series the week it came out this spring, the series was quickly axed.