This June, the AFI Catalog celebrates the 50-year release anniversary of Hollywood’s premier summer blockbuster JAWS (1975), which, at the time, was the highest grossing movie in history until STAR WARS hit theaters two years later. Featured on six of AFI’s 100 lists, including those honoring the best film scores, the top movie quotes and the greatest films of all time, JAWS ushered in a lucrative new era for Hollywood in which franchises were supported with multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns, saturation booking at theaters nationwide and merchandising tie-ins, a model that still continues today. Up until that point, AFI Life Achievement Award recipient Steven Spielberg had directed only one theatrically-released feature film, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974). However, the producers on that film, Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, were willing to take a chance on the relative newcomer. Just one month after acquiring the screen rights to Peter Benchley’s then-unpublished first novel “Jaws” in 1973 for $250,000 (or nearly $2 million today), they hired Spielberg to direct the film.ⁱ The book, which quickly became a best-seller, was loosely based on the true story of a Long Island fisherman who harpooned a 4,500 pound great white, as reported in a 1964 New York Daily article.ⁱⁱ Spielberg initially had reservations about directing the picture, since he was considering its impact on his future career if it failed at the box office. He was still in his mid-20s during production, making him the youngest director at Universal at the time.

Starting in May 1974, on the pastoral island of Martha’s Vineyard, production on JAWS was notoriously challenging, and much has been written about Spielberg’s struggles to keep the film afloat over the course of the five-month shoot. Thanks to Spielberg’s ambition and tenacity, JAWS was the first American feature to be filmed on the open ocean, without the use of tanks, miniatures and other studio-based properties.^{iii iv} The intention of moving production to locations outside of the studio was to ensure that scenes would be realistic, heightening the sense of fear that audiences feel by identifying with what they see on screen. Along with the predicament of keeping cameras and lights stable on unwieldy boats at sea, and managing antagonism amongst some of the actors, the most complex problems rested in the film’s namesake, Jaws, a 24-foot, 1.5-ton mechanical shark that consistently broke down in the ocean.^{v vi} The shark, which was paired with two other models of its right and left side, was nicknamed “Bruce” in honor of Spielberg’s lawyer, but the crew later jokingly referred to Jaws as “Flaws.”

The malfunctioning villain of the film may have surprisingly been its hero, as Spielberg and his team were forced to imply the presence of the shark instead of showing it directly in most of the movie.^vii The model shark does not make an overt appearance in JAWS until the final scenes. Working together with editor Verna Fields, Spielberg cut the picture using underwater photography that suggested the shark’s point of view, as well as shots of just a dorsal fin sticking up out of the ocean, citing Alfred Hitchcock’s subtlety in creating suspense as his inspiration.^viii The film also featured footage of real great white sharks filmed during pre-production in Australia. Further, John Williams’ legendary score heightened the threat of the encroaching shark for audiences without having to specifically reveal the Jaws model in the shot. The simple musical theme of two repeating bass notes has become synonymous with impending doom and is widely recognized as one of the most iconic pieces of music in cinema history.^{ix x}

With a budget that started at nearly $4 million but was inflated to over twice that amount, JAWS marked a phenomenal financial success for Universal as the picture made its way into the Guiness Book of World Records for being the first movie to gross over $100 million in theatrical rentals.^xi  JAWS went on to earn more than $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and ranks as the seventh-highest grossing movie of all time.^xii It won three significant Oscars®, including Best Original Score for John Williams’ composition, Best Sound and Best Film Editing for Verna Fields in her second nomination. (Her first Oscar® nod was in 1973 for AMERICAN GRAFFITI, which she co-edited with Marcia Lucas.) In 2001, JAWS was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for its profound cultural and artistic significance.

This summer, celebrations of JAWS’ golden anniversary will be held worldwide, including a theatrical re-release, which premiered at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival in April, a special edition DVD and the marketing of new merchandise.^xiii In September, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open its first and largest exhibit yet devoted to a single film titled simply “Jaws: The Exhibition,” featuring the sole surviving shark model of Bruce from the movie, as well as unearthed treasures from various archives.^xiv  The Academy Museum’s choice to highlight JAWS as its premier film-focused exhibition demonstrates the continuing impact of the movie on the art of moving images and underlines the movie’s enduring legacy in our collective cultural history.