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The 10 Best Shark Movies of All Time, Ranked!

From ‘Jaws’ to ‘The Meg,’ here’s your go-to list for summer movie nights

Chris Nashawaty,

AARP

Published July 01, 2026

a collage with a filmstrip showing scenes from deep blue sea, jaws and the meg, superimposed over a photo of a large shark

Sharks rule the screen in "Deep Blue Sea," "Jaws" and "The Meg"

AARP (Gannet77/Getty Images; Stephen Frink/Getty Images; Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection; Courtesy Everett Collection; Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection)

In 1936, the movie widely regarded to be the first-ever shark movie was released upon the world. The Australian film White Death starred American novelist and big-game fisherman Zane Grey as himself, battling a giant great white. But the genre wouldn’t truly come of age until the summer of 1975, when Steven Spielberg’s Jaws gave birth to the Hollywood blockbuster. Since then, we’ve witnessed the rise of Shark Week, the appearance of three increasingly preposterous Jaws sequels and the proliferation of deep-sea thrillers about bathers being turned into chum. Which of these films deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Spielberg’s masterpiece? Good question. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, these 10 movies might make you think twice.

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**10. Under Paris (2024)**

You’ve gotta give this guilty pleasure an A+ for timeliness. Arriving on the eve of the real-life 2024 Paris Olympics, this white-knuckle thriller starring The Artist’s Bérénice Bejo (50 on July 7), is set in the City of Light, where a massive, bloodthirsty shark terrorizes an Olympics-like triathlon that has swimmers splashing around in the Seine. Director Xavier Gens, 51, offers some not-so-subtle nods to global warming and craven politicians unwilling to do the right thing. But you can ignore all of that because deep down, this is cheese that’s been elevated to fromage.

Watch it: Under Paris

**9. 47 Meters Down (2017, PG-13)**

Remember near the end of Jaws when Richard Dreyfuss’ Hooper is submerged in a shark cage and how that doesn’t go well? 47 Meters Down is that scene stretched out to a lean and vise-tight 89-minute survival thriller. That may sound like a slight premise to hinge an entire movie on, but the two leads are so emotionally convincing, they sell it. Mandy Moore and Claire Holt play thrill-seeking sisters who, in a seemingly harmless bit of adventure tourism, are lowered in a shark-diving cage while on vacation in Mexico. When the cable snaps and their oxygen starts to run out, some very hungry sharks circle. Is 47 Meters Down a masterpiece? No, but it is a master class in claustrophobic dread with some nice jump scares. Matthew Modine, 67, swings by to serve up some shifty menace.

Watch it: 47 Meters Down

**8. Dangerous Animals (2025, R)**

How did it take this long to come up with a mash-up of shark thrillers and serial killers? This underseen little horror gem tells the story of a free-spirited surfer named Zephyr (Hassie Harrison, spunky) who is abducted by an unhinged Aussie boat captain (Jai Courtney, creepy), who takes them out to sea and films them as they’re fed to the man-eaters swarming off the bow. Can Zephyr save herself before she becomes seafood? We’ve all seen plenty of scary movies where man is the real monster, but in the case of this sick, giddy nail-biter, it’s literally true. Check it out … if you dare.

Watch it: Dangerous Animals

**7. Thrash (2026, R)**

The most recent entry on this list arrived on Netflix with muted fanfare but quickly became a word-of-mouth sensation. It’s easy to see why. Like a cut-rate cross between Twister and Jaws, this taut, economical disaster flick takes place in a small coastal South Carolina town about to be walloped by a Category 5 hurricane, which no one seems to be taking very seriously. Mother Nature unleashes her wrath and a tsunami-like tide crashes through the levies, submerging the town in 6 feet of water — with a few hungry guests prowling beneath the opaque surface. Thrash cuts back and forth between a handful of tense soap-opera storylines, the best of which involves a pregnant woman (Phoebe Dynevor) trapped in her car with water up to her neck (and rising fast!). Djimon Hounsou, 62, is on hand to give the B movie some A-list gravitas.

Watch it: Thrash

**6. The Meg (2018, PG-13)**

In most of his pulpy action movies, Cockney cue ball Jason Statham can usually get out of a jam by head-butting the bad guy in the face. But you’re not going to get very far head-butting a prehistoric shark the size of a Mack truck. In this delightfully daffy creature feature, Statham, 58, plays a rescue diver tapped to save a group of scientists trapped in an undersea research station in the Pacific after they unwittingly let loose a massive, thought-to-be-extinct megalodon. Statham is Statham. You know what you’re going to get, and you’re either a fan or you’re not. But director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) has a blast with The Meg’s absurd, popcorn premise — even if it would have been even better if it went for an R rating instead of a toothless PG-13.

Watch it: The Meg

**5. Open Water (2003, R)**

Here’s proof that you don’t need a big budget to scare the hell out of audiences. The setup couldn’t be more bare-bones: A couple scuba diving with a group is left behind as night starts to fall. As they panic, treading water in the middle of nowhere, waiting for a rescue that will never come, Open Water becomes pure nightmare fuel. The stars (Daniel Travis and Blanchard Ryan) solidly sell their doom-drenched situation, especially when the first dorsal fin pierces the water’s surface. Like the first half of Jaws, this movie runs on the power of suggestion: What we don’t see is what terrifies us.

Watch it: Open Water

**4. Jaws 2 (1978, PG)**

I’m not going to make the case that the Jaws sequels are good. They’re not. In fact, 1987’s Jaws: The Revenge is one of the worst major studio movies ever made. But I would argue that Jaws 2 is unfairly maligned. Richard Dreyfuss didn’t return after the original, but Roy Scheider did for this Amity Island bloodbath that follows the Brody kids as they sneak off with their teenage pals for an after-hours boating adventure that goes belly-up pretty quickly. I won’t lie; this is a steep comedown from Steven Spielberg’s original. But it’s also a hoot, especially when the great white attacks a helicopter!

Watch it: Jaws 2

**3. The Shallows (2016, PG-13)**

I’m going to come right out and say it: This is Blake Lively’s best performance. As Nancy, a medical student who heads to a secluded beach in Mexico to mourn her recently deceased mother and, you know, do a little surfing while she’s grieving, Lively believably sells her character’s slow-building realization that she’s put herself in a bad situation and is now in way over her head. While riding a wave, she gashes her leg, and that blood is like a dinner invitation to you-know-who. Stranded on a small, rocky outcrop with the coastline (and safety) within easy sight, she’s trapped with only her wits to save her. Some may think this one is ranked too high. Let’s thrash it out in the comments!

**2. Deep Blue Sea (1999, R)**

Movies like Deep Blue Sea are why spoiler alerts were created. After all, as fun as this movie is, it’s mostly famous for one incredible gotcha moment involving Samuel L. Jackson. Come on, you know the one. And if you don’t, watch this classic immediately. Like a shark version of Jurassic Park, the premise involves scientists who create supersmart sharks, then are shocked when those very same high-IQ killing machines figure out a way to get loose and turn on them. (If real-life scientists were as dumb as movie scientists, humanity would have gone extinct a long time ago.) The film is a blast: A who’s who of pleasingly familiar faces, including Stellan Skarsgård and LL Cool J, share the screen with the sharks.

Watch it: Deep Blue Sea

**1. Jaws (1975, PG)**

What is there possibly left to say about Steven Spielberg’s Jaws? I saw it on my seventh birthday and it both scared me and has scarred me for five decades. Yes, it’s the greatest shark movie ever made, but I’d argue that it’s also the greatest movie ever made, period. And while others may argue that with me, there’s no denying how much Spielberg makes out of so little. The shark is barely seen in the first hour and yet, thanks to John Williams’ bone-chilling two-note “duh-duh” theme, you feel its terrifying presence in every frame of the film. The stars — Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw as the Ahab-like Quint — are perfection while Spielberg works the audience’s nerves like an orchestra conductor. Bottom line: If you’re planning a trip to the beach this summer, you may want to steer clear of rewatching this indisputable classic. Or test your mettle!

Watch it: Jaws

Chris Nashawaty, former film critic for Entertainment Weekly, is the author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story and a contributor to Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

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