<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $50 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $144.1 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Beach is a 2000 English - language drama film directed by Danny Boyle and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Alex Garland, which was adapted for the film by John Hodge . The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, and Robert Carlyle . It was filmed on the Thai island Koh Phi Phi . </P> <P> Richard, a young American seeking adventure in Bangkok, meets the eccentric Daffy, who tells him of a pristine, uninhabited island in the Gulf of Thailand with a beautiful hidden beach and lagoon . Daffy explains that he and other travelers settled there in secret several years earlier, but difficulties arose and he chose to leave . Daffy commits suicide, leaving Richard a map to the island . Richard convinces a young French couple, Françoise and Étienne, to accompany him to the island, and the three travel to Ko Samui . Richard meets two Americans who have heard rumors of the island, including that huge amounts of cannabis supposedly grow there . Before departing, Richard leaves them a copy of the map . </P>

Where was the film the beach filmed in thailand