Universal Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of JAWS
Universal Pictures is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jaws (1975), director Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award®–winning thriller that redefined the theatrical experience and remains one of the most influential films in cinema history. On August 29, the film returns to theaters nationwide in stunning 4K, with select screenings in IMAX®, RealD 3D, 4DX and D-BOX, offering audiences the chance to experience the original summer blockbuster as never before.
Released on June 20, 1975, Jaws became a box-office sensation and a cultural tidal wave. It was the first film in history to surpass $100 million at the domestic box office and helped usher in the era of the wide-release blockbuster. Its success redefined the studio release model and established the summer season as Hollywood’s premiere showcase for event films.
For Spielberg — who had made his feature debut the year prior with The Sugarland Express — Jaws marked a pivotal ascent. The film cemented his place among the defining filmmakers of his generation, and his mastery of suspense, character and visual storytelling would shape the trajectory of American filmmaking for decades to come. At age 27, Spielberg approached Jaws with both ambition and restraint. When the production’s mechanical shark, nicknamed Bruce, repeatedly malfunctioned, Spielberg leaned into the power of suggestion, building dread through careful composition, editing and sound. The result was a new cinematic language for thrillers — one defined as much by what is unseen as by what is revealed.
Jaws was nominated for four Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, and won three: Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Original Score for John Williams’ now-legendary theme. The film marked an early milestone in Spielberg’s partnership with Williams, whose collaboration would come to define the emotional and musical architecture of modern film.
Adapted from Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel, Jaws follows the residents of Amity Island as a series of attacks by a great white shark threatens the summer tourist economy — prompting the town’s police chief (Oscar® nominee Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Oscar®winner Richard Dreyfuss), and a grizzled shark hunter (Oscar® nominee Robert Shaw) to venture into open waters to confront the predator head-on.
ABOUT THE FILM
- Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottlieb, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Chrissie Watkins, Jonathan Filley, Ted Grossman, Chris Rebello, Michael Brody
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Screenplay: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
- Produced by: David Brown, Richard D. Zanuck
The 50th Anniversary of JAWS is in theaters on August 29, 2025!
Tickets for the 50th anniversary re-release are on sale now and can be purchased here.
