Over 20 years after Hollywood film The Beach catapulted Maya Bay to global fame, a Thai court yesterday ordered the authorities to accept THB10 million (US$273,000) given by the film’s production studio to settle a lawsuit over the damage caused.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the Forest Department must begin rehabilitation work at Maya Bay within 30 days using the money paid by 20th Century Studios, formerly known as 20th Century Fox. The lawsuit had sought 10 times the amount.
Under a 2019 agreement, the studio agreed to pay the THB10 million for natural conservation.
The order came 24 years after local authorities in Krabi filed a civil suit against Thai government agencies and then-20th Century Fox, seeking THB100 million in compensation for shooting the adventure drama which starred Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 2000 film drew a large increase in tourists to the destination, with thousands of tourists began flocking at the beach daily.
The Beach grossed $144 million (THB5.3 billion) at the box office.
Maya Bay was ordered indefinitely closed in October 2018. It reopened in 2022 with new restrictions.
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