June 20, 2022 – Jaws

On this day 47 years ago, Jaws was released in theaters! It was a huge success, the first movie to ever earn over $100 million at the box office. It was the highest grossing movie of all time until Star Wars was released two years later.
Jaws was based on a 1974 book by the same name. Steven Spielberg was tapped to direct the film because of a thematically-similar movie he had directed called Duel. The movie was shot mostly on location in Martha’s Vineyard, with locals playing many of the minor roles. Martha’s Vineyard was chosen because the surrounding ocean was 35 feet for up to 12 miles offshore, which made it ideal for the mechanical shark rig. Originally, the producers wanted to train a great white shark for the movie, but when they realizes that wasn’t quite possible, 3 full size mechanical sharks were built. The shark weighed just over a ton was 25 feet long.
It was the first major movie shot on the ocean. This caused some filming issues, including unwanted sailboats floating into frame, cameras getting wet, the prop shark malfunctioning, and the Orca even once started sinking with the actors on board. This caused the film to go over budget and past schedule. The movie was originally scheduled to be filmed in 55 days, but it wound up taking 159 days, and that doesn’t include post production! But the delays were somewhat beneficial, allowing the script to be refined and Spielberg to shoot many scenes so that the shark was only hinted at with the film’s now iconic music.
Jaws was the first movie to be released in more than 400 theaters. It was key in popularizing the summer blockbuster and proving the benefits of a wide release backed by heavy TV advertising. It went on to win 3 Academy Awards, for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound.
The movie had broad cultural repercussions. Jaws caused many viewers to fear going into the ocean, and low beach attendance in 1975 was attributed to the film. It spawned two more movies, however both were flops with critics and at the box office. Learn more here.