When it comes to shark cinema, Jaws is the best and Deep Blue Sea is the most. I analyzed theatrically released shark films, pulled shark data, & DBS features the most shark carnage. The sharks have almost 27 minutes of screen time & the longest gap of time without sharks is 6 minutes & 37 seconds
When it comes to ranking shark films the clear #1 is Jaws. It’s not even close because the movie is an all-timer that features some of the most iconic movie moments of all time and is one of the few horror films to be nominated for Best Picture. Any “Best Shark Movie” list only gets interesting when it comes to picking the second best shark movie as Deep Blue Sea, The Shallows, Under Paris, Jaws 2, The Reef, Open Water, and The Meg all have sound arguments to be in the #2 spot. Since Jaws makes it almost impossible to make an interesting “Best Shark Movie” list. I decided to analyze 15 theatrically released shark films (and Under Paris because it’s awesome) to see which shark movie features the most shark carnage and screen time. Basically, I wanted to know which shark movie is the MOST shark movie. Quick Note – If you’ve followed my data posts since 2017 you’ll know that I love Deep Blue Sea and have posted many times on Reddit about it (Reddit links ~here~, ~here~, ~here~, and ~here~). I also started Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast in 2020 and I think you should listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. That being said, I had no idea which movie would be the “Most Shark Movie” and would’ve been totally fine if DBS lost to Jaws 2, The Shallows or The Meg because I love them all. Here are the five things I examined: Amount of shark screen time – The shark has to be alive (the dead Megalodon in The Meg doesn’t count) and I counted the time of the entire scene in which the shark is featured. There are moments when the camera cuts to a reaction shot of a human and then back to the shark. I counted it all. How long until we see the entire shark. In Deep Blue Sea, the ~first full sighting of a shark~ occurs at 3 minutes and 28 seconds. It’s quick! Renny doesn’t mess around. First Attack – ~The first attack in~ ~Jaws~ ~happens at the 4:05 mark~ Longest time gaps between shark sightings – In Jaws 2, there’s a 45-minute gap between the first full shark sighting and its next appearance. How many 10-minute gaps are there between shark sightings? *Quick Note – I considered a “Most Kills” category but I didn’t want to penalize movies like Open Water and The Reef for having relatively low body counts because they aren’t that kind of shark movie. I created a ranking system to see which theatrically released shark movie is the MOST shark movie. The movie with the lowest amount of points wins because it typically ranked #1-3 in every category. I chose to leave movies like Ghost Shark, Sharknado, Tintorera, Black Demon, and Shark Bait (which I've all watched) because it opens a vast world of shark movies that differ in quality. This list isn't about quality, it's about which shark movie features the most shark carnage. Fun quotes
The overall winner is Deep Blue Sea because the sharks have almost 27 minutes of screen time and play a major role throughout. Movies like Open Water (divers are left behind while scuba diving and have to deal with sharks), The Reef (A boat sinks and characters have to deal with sharks) and 47 Meters Down (a shark cage sinks and the characters have to deal with sharks) introduce sharks as hurdles to deal with. In Deep Blue Sea, the sharks are front and center as they drive the plot and use a gurney (with Stellan Skarsgård attached to it) to flood a large chunk of the Aquatica facility. Director Renny Harlin has always been open about how it pays homage to the Jaws (license plate, similar shark kills) and Jurassic Park (genetic modification, Samuel L. Jackson is eaten, separated arms, clever animals, big rainstorms, kitchen fights) franchises, and he made sure to follow their footsteps by creating a wonderful summer blockbuster that pulled in $165 million during the loaded 1999 summer. It’s the type of film that makes it impossible to say something like “It needed more shark action” or “The trailers were misleading. I thought there would be more sharks.” For better or worse, Harlin loaded the film with sharks and I love him for it. I’m happy that this data backs up what Brian Raftery wrote about for Wired in 2017 (~Forget Jaws. The Real Shark Movie to Beat Is Deep Blue Sea~) Here’s a quick timeline of DBS to prove how much shark action there is (Timestamps were pulled from my digital copy)
It’s worth noting that the shark films ranked 11-15 have a higher Tomatometer, IMDb, and Letterboxd averages than the films ranked 1-5. So, being the MOST shark films isn’t always ideal. 11-15 ranked movies – Shark Night, Open Water, The Reef, 47 Meters Down, Jaws
1-5 ranked movies – Deep Blue Sea, Meg 2: The Trench, The Meg, Bait 3D. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged
Here are three highest ranked film in each category. || || |Movies|Tomatometer|IMDb|Letterboxd| |Deep Blue Sea|60|5.9|2.8| |The Meg 2: The Trench|27|5|2| |The Meg|47|5.7|2.3| |Bait|44|5.2|2.5| |47 Meters Down: Uncaged|44|5|2.1| |Jaws 2|62|5.8|2.7| |Under Paris|66|5.2|2.2| |Jaws: The Revenge|2|3|1.6| |The Shallows|79|6.3|2.9| |Jaws 3-D|11|3.7|1.8| |Shark Night|19|4.1|2.7| |Open Water|71|5.8|2.7| |The Reef|79|5.8|2.7| |47 Meters Down|53|5.6|2.5| |Jaws|97|8.1|4| Conclusion – Jaws is the best shark movie and Deep Blue Sea is the MOST shark movie. Make sure to check out my other Reddit data posts if you like this one! Also, if you're bored, I've covered many R-rated action films on The Movies, Films and Flix podcast (it's available wherever you listen to podcasts) Movies featuring snowmobile action scenes are way cooler than movies featuring jet ski action scenes Analyzing the unnecessarily large trap in Predators How old is MacGruber? In the scream franchise, less screams are better Who is the meanest person in Mean Girls? The Con Air seating chart Jacked Up – A Perfectly Bad Adam Sandler Film In Bloodsport, Chong-Li lost on purpose What is the most Fast & Furious film in the Fast & Furious franchise? How long did it take The Joker's henchmen to build the cash pyramid in The Dark Knight? Brad Pitt eating and box office numbers JCVD and his splits Encino Man and the Ice Chunk Movement How Far Did the Shark Travel in Jaws: The Revenge? Matthew McConaughey's massive jump in Reign of Fire People love cold Stallone How Far Does the Creature From It Follows Travel? People love a bearded Kurt Russell Tracking the Merman's Murderous Journey Michael Myers road trip in Halloween H20 Stellan Skarsgard's journey in Deep Blue Sea was gnarly How Fast Can Leatherface Run? Jet Ski Action Scenes Are the Worst A Breakdown of the Events Leading Up to Sam Jackson's Demise in Deep Blue Sea The Fast & Furious & Corona How Did the Geologist Get Lost in Prometheus? How Long Does it Take Horror Villains to Travel From NYC to San Francisco? Michael Myers Hates Using His Turn Signal Can Jason Voorhees teleport? How Long Did the Joker Need to Setup the Weapon Circle in Suicide Squad? How Much Time Did Batman Need to Setup the Bat Fire Symbol in The Dark Knight Rises? How Much Sand Did Elektra's Sandbag Trainer in Daredevil (2003) Require? Breaking down The Mariner vs. Sea Eater battle in Waterworld Analyzing the Posters for Nicholas Sparks' Book Adaptations How far Did Nic Cage Run Around in a Bear Suit in The Wicker Man Remake? How Many Bullets Missed John Matrix in Commando? How Much Blood Poured Out of the Sprinklers During the "Blood Rave" in Blade? Michael Myers Loves Doing Laundry Dolph Lundgren and His Front Kicks How Many Calories Did Shaggy and Scooby Doo Ingest When They Ate the Cotton Candy Glob? submitted by /u/LundgrensFrontKick |
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