If you’re in Southwest Hoboken today, you may see a rather unique sight — a slew of robots that have taken over the Valero carwash and gas station near Observer Highway. But don’t fret — while it looks like a scene out of Star Wars, it’s apparently just a Netflix ad for a new movie being released Friday, called “The Mitchells vs. The Machines.”
A billboard was spotted by a reader in Hoboken on Wednesday morning and shared with our team.
Photo: @bensobsey
The movie is being released on Friday, and is apparently a “star-studded animated film,” according to Netflix’s website. In the movie, the robot apocalypse puts the brakes on the Mitchells’ cross-country road trip. Now it’s up to the Mitchells to save the human race.
Read More: Movie Scenes Filmed in Hoboken
Above the gas station on the car wash building, there’s a painted billboard of the movie, and robots taking over the gas station — in an ode to the movie’s action. Hoboken isn’t the city to get a cool gas station makeover in honor of the new movie, Netflix also chose a local gas station in LA to promote it.
According to the press release, the gas station takeover is a part of a larger weekend-long event drive-through activation with photo ops, performances, and giveaways from April 28th to May 2nd. If you attend the festivities, use the hashtag #TheMitchellsvsTheMachines when you post.
While this is a bit of a unique situation taking place, this isn’t the first time that movie producers and advertisers have used Hoboken as a place to film or promote. Last year prior to the pandemic shutdowns, the Tribeca Film Festival was set to host in Hoboken. Other movies throughout the years have been shot here, including Netflix’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which was shot uptown at Dino and Harry’s.
See More: A List of Movies Filmed in Jersey City
“The Mitchells vs. The Machines” comes from the same producers as “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The LEGO Movie,” and is making some waves with its billboard ads this week.
We’ve reached out to a contact at Netflix to ask about the duration of the promo, but it seems like the activation will be a short stint. Definitely tag us in your photos on Instagram @thehobokengirl if you see more!
