About the exhibition

Experience Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) like never before. Jaws: The Exhibition is the first-ever exhibition of this scale at the Academy Museum, focused exclusively on a single film, and the largest mounted exhibition ever for Jaws, the Oscar®-winning film from Universal Pictures. It celebrates the film’s 50th anniversary and revisits Jaws scene by scene, through original objects, behind-the-scenes revelations, and interactive moments. Curated with direct access to the collections from Steven Spielberg and The Amblin Hearth Archive, NBCUniversal Archives & Collections, and more, the exhibition dives deep into the film’s production history and explores its enduring impact.

Directed by Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws became the first summer blockbuster, forever changing the movie industry. The suspenseful adventure film, adapted from the novel by Peter Benchley, is centered on three main characters—Brody, Hooper, and Quint—who hunt a great white shark menacing the seaside town of Amity Island. The monumental success of Jaws belies uncertain beginnings, where production challenges arising from an unprecedented mechanical shark spurred creative problem-solving. More than five decades later, it remains clear that the tenacity of its cast and crew led to the realization of this beloved classic, one of the most influential films in motion picture history.  

Jaws: The Exhibition is organized by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jenny He and Assistant Curator Emily Rauber Rodriguez, with Curatorial Assistant Alexandra James Salichs.