10 Movies Shot in Phuket

Shot in 2000 and directed by Danny Boyle, The Beach is based on the eponymous Alex Garland novel. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, this movie made a small cove on the western side of Koh Phi Phi Leh world-famous: Maya Bay. Funnily enough, the island mentioned in the novel is located in the Gulf of Thailand near Koh Samui, whereas the island featured in the movie is in the Andaman Sea, on the other side of the isthmus.

The hotel at which Leonardo DiCaprio stays in the early part of the movie is the On On Hotel in Phuket Old Town.

Shot in 1974, The Man with the Golden Gun was the 9th James Bond movie. Featuring Roger Moore as the iconic British spy and Christopher Lee as the villain, Francisco Scaramanga, the film was predominantly shot in Asia: Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand.

One of Scaramanga’s secret bases is hidden in Koh Ping Khan in magnificent Phang Nga Bay. The islet has since been renamed James Bond Island and is a popular landmark, visited by hundreds of tourists every day.

Shot in 1993, Heaven & Earth is a superb film by Oliver Stone about the Vietnam War and its consequences. Based on a true story written by Le Ly Hayslip (played by Hiep Thi Le in the movie), the plot relates the life of a young Vietnamese woman and her march through the horrors of history, from Vietnam to America and back.

The Sino-Portuguese house featured in the movie is Baan Chinpracha which is open to visitors and located in Phuket Old Town. Scenes of Vietnamese rural life were shot in the beautiful province of Krabi, only a 2-hour drive from Phuket.

Shot in 1997 and directed by Roger Spottiswoode, Tomorrow Never Dies was the 18th James Bond movie of the series, and the second using Thai locations to represent other Asian countries: The Ho Chi Minh City scenes were shot in Bangkok, and Koh Ping Khan – in Phang Nga Bay – was used for the second time in a James Bond movie for a scene.

One Phuket-based junk was also used in the movie: June Bahtra. This junk is still available for day and sunset cruises in Phang Nga Bay.

Directed by Frank Coraci, Around the World in 80 Days is the American blockbuster version of Jules Verne’s novel published in 1873. It's one of Verne’s most acclaimed works and relates to the race around the world by Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) and his valourous valet Passepartout (Jackie Chan) after being challenged by friends for a £20,000 wager to circumnavigate the globe in less than 80 days.

The scenes depicting a Chinese rural village were shot in Krabi Province.

Shot in 2005 and directed by Rob Cohen, Stealth is an action movie in which Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx are 3 US Navy pilots selected to test a brand-new jet equipped with an artificial intelligence prototype – the EDI that needs to learn how to manoeuvre by itself from the most talented pilots. Things don’t go as planned, however, when the EDI starts to think for itself.

The pilots’ rest and recuperation scenes were shot in Maya Bay in Koh Phi Phi Leh.