The way it’s not Christmas without Home Alone and Love Actually, there’s no summer without Jaws. Although the film can be considered an anti-summer movie thanks to the terrifying shark, it’s been a staple for over five decades.
Jaws is largely considered to be the first blockbuster of all time, securing the Guinness World Record for the first summer blockbuster. After joining Peacock’s streaming library on July 1, it didn’t take long for it to become a hit, especially on the Fourth of July weekend. Per FlixPatrol, Jaws is officially the most-watched title on Peacock.
The film dropped into the Top 10 one day after its debut on Peacock in tenth place. It swiftly jumped to second place on July 3, before slightly dropping to No. 4 on July 4, and officially No. 1 on July 5. Its less successful sequel, Jaws 2, also debuted in the charts in fourth place.
Jaws Became a Hit at the Right Time
The Steven Spielberg-helmed creature feature is often considered the quintessential summer movie. Since the film was originally released on June 20, 1975, it had a major impact on Spielberg’s career and subsequent summer releases.
The movie went on to gross $495 million worldwide against a $9 million budget, becoming a major success. It’s fair to note the number has changed over the years with subsequent theatrical re-releases.
Jaws might be a 51-year-old movie, but its themes continue to be extremely timely. The film is set in a beach town, where a young woman is attacked by a shark. After it was confirmed, police chief Martin Brody plans to close the beaches, but Mayor Larry Vaughn persuades him to reconsider, fearing the town’s summer economy will suffer, especially with the Fourth of July weekend around the corner.
The story could very well be found everywhere nowadays, where governments put the economic advantages ahead of potential dangers.
Jaws marked Spielberg’s first true success, which he directed from a script by Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley, the latter who wrote the 1974 novel of the same name. It starred Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Robert Shaw as Quint, Richard Dreyfuss as biologist Matt Hooper, Lorraine Gary as Ellen Brody, and Murray Hamilton as Mayor Larry Vaughn.
Jaws Changed the Movie Industry
Jaws turned into a phenomenon that Hollywood has been trying to replicate ever since. Jaws became the first film to gross $100 million at the box office, and redefined the industry, as other studios started to work on mass-appeal movies scheduled around the summer for box office success. It also received several sequels with varying degrees of success, even though Spielberg never returned to helm one.
Jaws is often cited as an inspiration by many filmmakers, and even Quentin Tarantino called it the “greatest movie ever made.”
The filmmaker clarified the distinction between movie and film, and explained, I think Jaws is the greatest movie ever made. Maybe not the greatest film. But it’s the greatest movie ever made. And then there are other movies that can get in its rarefied air. But as far as a movie, there’s no making it better than Jaws. There’s no ‘better’ than Jaws. It is the best movie ever made. And it shows how badly timed most movies made before Jaws were.”
Jaws is streaming on Peacock.
- Release Date
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June 20, 1975
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Director
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Steven Spielberg
- Writers
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Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
- Producers
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David Brown
