How a Bollywood spy thriller transformed Irish tourism and broke Indian box-office records

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Released in 2012, Ek Tha Tiger became a cultural phenomenon that redefined the scale of Indian cinema. Beyond its record-breaking box-office performance, the film’s international production footprint—spanning from Dublin to Havana—turned into a powerful engine for global tourism, proving that blockbuster storytelling can reshape real-world perceptions of geography.

Directed by Kabir Khan and produced by Aditya Chopra, Ek Tha Tiger follows a RAW agent who falls for an ISI operative while on a mission in Dublin. The film’s production was an ambitious, albeit complicated, undertaking. Principal photography, which began in August 2011, faced significant hurdles, including the director’s security detention in Turkey and Salman Khan’s health issues. Despite these delays, the film’s commitment to international locations—such as Havana, where it was the first Bollywood production to shoot—helped it secure a unique global appeal.

The film’s impact on tourism was immediate and measurable. By filming on the campus of Trinity College Dublin, the production team tapped into a strategy to connect Indian audiences with new, international settings. Following the film's release, Tourism Ireland’s Indian Facebook page saw its follower count surge from 10,000 to over 23,000 in just one week. Then-Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, noted that the film established a vital foundation for future collaborative projects in Ireland, demonstrating the soft-power potential of high-budget cinema.

Commercially, the film was a juggernaut. It grossed ₹334.39 crore worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2012. It set multiple domestic records, including the fastest film to reach the ₹100 crore mark in India, surpassing the previous record held by Bodyguard. While it faced a ban in Pakistan due to concerns over its portrayal of the country, its international performance remained robust, with strong earnings in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and North America. The film’s success eventually launched the YRF Spy Universe, cementing its legacy as a cornerstone of modern Indian action cinema.

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