Even though shark week is long gone, many, like myself, still love watching or perhaps rewatching a good shark movie. It might be that you enjoy the genre or are just fascinated by sharks so you’d like to watch a good documentary about them. Whatever it is, here’s the list of 25 best shark movies on Netflix to stream right now. Keep in mind that not all of the movies are going to scare you so much that you don’t ever want to go swimming again, some are going to be family-friendly and might mention sharks and have shark-related scenes but don’t put the whole focus on them.
Jaws (1975)
Although it’s been 47 since its release, the movie is still relevant and you can easily rewatch it every year. The movie Jaws was directed by the amazing Steven Spielberg that made it truly great by keeping the man-eating shark a mystery. Back then, there was no CGI to play with to make the shark look lifelike but Spielberg managed to help us travel to the future.
There aren’t that many flashy jump-scare scenes but it’ll still give you a good scare because of the fact that it builds suspense. The two main characters of the movie are Quint the shark hunter played by Robert Shaw and Hooper the oceanographer played by Richard Dreyfuss. If you enjoy the movie so much, luckily, Jaws 2 was released back in 1978 and the third installation of the movie was released in 1983 all of which are available on Netflix.
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
The CGI in the movie is questionable but the movie still manages to build suspense and wonder about what’s going to happen next. The plot is set in a research facility out at sea where researchers are trying to find the cure for Alzheimer’s disease by genetically modifying sharks. You can already see where this is going…
The screenwriter for the movie, Duncan Kennedy, came up with the idea when he witnessed a shark attack near his home in Australia. If you like the movie, there are two more installments, all released on Netflix.
Soul Surfer (2011)
Surfers and sharks are matched both in real life and in movies like peanut butter and jelly and so, Soul Surfer was created. It’s based on a true story and autobiography by Bethany Hamilton that appears in the movie as the main character.
The movie stars AnnaSophia Robb and although it is more focused on surfing and enduring, the shark plays a huge part in telling the young surfer’s story and how it all changed one faith-defining day.
The Shallows (2016)
It’s hard to think that one character in a movie can make it interesting and a joy to watch but that’s what Blake Lively did here. She plays a surfer stranded on a little island, trying to survive the lurking shark that has already killed her surfer friends.
There are a lot of shark movies out there and a lot of them have bad reviews and ratings but this one is at the top of this list, right next to Jaws. The movie The Shallows has a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
47 Meters Down (2017)
Lisa and Kate, 2 sisters on vacation decide to experience swimming with sharks for the first time. Their decision quickly turns out to be a bad one after the rope breaks and the shark tank they’re in falls 47 meters down. There is an independent sequel to the movie but I’d stick to this one if I were you.
Much like the jaws movie, it manages to build suspense and will have you on the edge of your seat for the whole duration. The two sisters are played by Claire Holt and Mandy Moore and the mighty sharks are our favorite of the bunch, the great whites’. It’s worth a watch if you’re a die-hard shark movie fan.
The Meg (2018)
If you’re tired of great whites taking all the spotlight, why not try out watching a movie with its infamous predecessor, the megalodon? If you thought great whites were big, try a 15-18 meter shark with teeth as big as 18 cm.
The movie The Meg is set in the Marianas Trench where researchers exploring it encounters the megalodon, a mystery to humanity in real life. The movie will have you question whether or not the megalodon is truly extinct or not and with a cast consisting of Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, and Li Bingbing, it’s surely worth your time.
Great White (2021)
It would seem that every shark movie gets worse as the years go by but the Great White slightly helps the genre’s case. Although a 42% approval rating isn’t a lot, for a shark movie, it definitely is.
The movie stars Katrina Bowden, Kimie Tsukakoshi, Aaron Jakubenko, and Tim Kano as the protagonists that try and search for shark attack survivors. While investigating, their seaplane is attacked by a shark leaving them stranded on an island, trying to escape with barely anything to help them.
Open Water (2003)
The low-budget movie crew had to work with only $100.000, but amazingly enough, this movie accumulated $55.000.000 in revenue. This alone should tell you about the movie’s quality.
Don’t expect a whole Hollywood quality and style camera work but expect to see real suspense. An interesting fact about the movie is that the actors Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis had to swim with real sharks. That’s what the movie prides itself on, they only used real sharks.
Shark Bait (2022)
Don’t steal jet skies when on vacation, is what the movie suggests. It’s a newer movie, released in May of 2022, and follows a group of spring breakers that steal a couple of jet skis while on vacation in Mexico. They go out into the open water and after a crash, what was supposed to be a fun getaway quickly goes south.
The plot isn’t the best but will do if you have nothing else to watch. The camera work is also decent as well as the acting crew, starring Holly Earl, Catherine Hannay, and Jack Trueman amongst others.
The Requin (2022)
If we had to compare the two 2022 releases mentioned here, I’d say this release is worse but as shark-loving movie fans, we can’t be picky so the movie made it here.
The film follows a couple on vacation (of course) that gets stranded on a floating wooden platform after a storm knocks it out. In hopes of survival, they light a fire on the platform and after it burns, they find themselves in the water, trying to fight of a shark. The film stars Alicia Silverstone and James Tupper.
Dark Tide (2012)
The story follows a shark whisperer that lost her mojo after a shark attack. One day, a millionaire offers to pay her a lot of money for a no-cage shark dive. Our protagonist is then faced with a challenge, to face her fears in order to save everyone after the dive goes south due to a storm.
The main character is played by the academy award-winning Halle Berry and she certainly did the movie enough justice for it to make it onto the list.
The Reef (2010)
After a group of friends goes sailing, their yacht is capsized and they make the decision to swim out instead of waiting for their boat to sink. Upon that decision, they meet our main antagonist, a shark.
Is the acting the best you’ve ever seen? No, but it does well what it’s supposed to do, satisfying your need for some shark movies.
Sharknado (2013)
The next few movies are more comedy than they are shark horror movies but they found their place in the forbidden classics you must watch category and of course, the first one on the list is Sharknado.
If you take a tornado and a shark what do you get? Sharknado is the answer and it’s literally that, sharks are being thrown all over the place by the power of tornados and they’re eating people up from the land, sounds ridiculous enough? I recommend you watch it.
Ghost Shark (2013)
The movie is The Room level bad but that’s why you have to watch it. It’s iconic in it’s own right and if you ever feel like watching the sequel to the movie, you’re in for a treat because Ghost Shark 2 exists as well.
In the movie, a couple of rednecks kill a great white shark and it comes back as a ghost shark. Now, our heroes have to figure out the mystery of the shark and kill it for good.
USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
Although it’s not a full-blown shark movie, it still has some shark movie elements in it like the fact that the ship is blown up and the brave men on that ship were left stranded out at open sea for 5 days where they encounter sharks as well.
The movie is based on the true story of the loss of the USS Indianapolis ship in the 2nd world war and stars Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thoman Jane, and others.
Shark Night (2011)
A group of friends goes on vacation on a lake and everything seems to be going smoothly, minus the minor teen drama but that all changes when they realize there are sharks in the lake. The question then becomes how the sharks got in the lake and if somebody put them there, who did it?
The good thing about the movie is the fact that the main antagonists are not the sharks, but rather the people who put them there so it adds a second layer to the classic story of friends going out at sea and trying to survive a shark or multiple sharks.
Shark Tale (2004)
If you prefer to have your shark be a friendly bunch that can talk and looks cute most of the time, you’ll love shark tale. The story follows a fish called Oscar voiced by Will Smith and a shark, Lenny, voiced by Jack Black, who join forces to make Oscar the man in his town and help Lenny get off the grid since he’s a vegetarian.
I remember watching this movie as a kid and I absolutely loved it so I’d definitely recommend it to kids and adults.
Finding Nemo (2003)
Although it doesn’t focus on sharks solely, we’re all very familiar with the 3 sharks of the movie, Anchor, Bruce, and Chum, and their pledge that they’re nice sharks and not murderous killing machines.
The movie follows a single father on a quest to find his son Nemo when a fishing boat catches him and separates them. On his way, he meets Dory and the adventure begins from there.
Sharks 3D Kings of The Ocean (2012)
This is the first of the two documentaries that you’ll be able to watch on Netflix about sharks. It features close-up footage of the great white, hammerhead, and whale shark with commentary by shark ethologist Erich Ritter.
The documentary tries to give you a close-up of how sharks really are harmless and why that is. It’s a breath of fresh air if you compare it to all the movies that portray them as man-eating machines.
Sharks: Monster of The Media (2019)
Sharks need our help, the documentary says and if you watch it, you’ll learn why that is. The biologist behind it is the same man that provided commentary in the Sharks 3D Kings of The Ocean documentary so if you happened to watch the first one already and liked it, you can expect the same standard with this one.
The documentary is about 50 minutes long so it shouldn’t take up too much of your time if you want to go back to watching regular Hollywood-like shark movies.
Shark Week (2012)
Trapped by a madman and left alone on a stranded island, 8 strangers must survive hundreds of sharks released to get them. The movie is definitely in the horror genre but doesn’t expect anything too spectacular out of it.
The cast features Joshua Michael Allen, Erin Coker, and Patrick Bergin among others. It’s not available in the US but if you have a VPN you can quickly get around that fact.
Raging Sharks (2005)
If you like guns, big explosions, and sharks, you’ll enjoy this movie a lot. That might be an overstatement though since it’s not like the movie had a big budget to work with so don’t expect anything Hollywood-like.
Some of the cast members include Corin Nemec as Mike Olsen, Vanessa Angel as Linda Olsen, and Corbin Bernsen as Captain Riley. The movie is set in the Pacific, where a bunch of great white sharks terrorizes the researchers.
Shark Lake (2015)
After a tragedy in a lake, a local sheriff sets on to bring justice to the victim, and capture the animal and the animal collector that likely planted the shark there in the first place.
The animal collector is played by Dolph Lundgren and the sheriff by Sara Malakul Lane. The CGI is not great but is not the worst I’ve seen so give it a try if you run out of shark movies to watch.
Liked this article? Join us on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!
