The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is putting on a Jaws exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark thriller.
Jaws: The Exhibition opens on 14 September and will run through 26 July 2026. It will feature more than 200 original objects from the Oscar-winning Universal Pictures film.
These include a prop dorsal fin, concept illustrations by production designer Joe Alves, a costume worn by Roy Scheider as Brody, and original shark design schematics by design engineer Frank Wurmser.
The show will be the Academy Museum’s largest-ever exhibition focused exclusively on a single film.
“As an institution both devoted to and deeply enshrined within the film industry, the Academy Museum can combine deep, rigorous, and fulfilling research with exciting moments of interactivity and discovery for our audiences, allowing them to experience this beloved film and enduring story in a brand-new way,” said the Academy Museum’s director and president Amy Homma.
Since opening in 2021, the Academy Museum has housed the only surviving full-scale model of the shark from Jaws.
Academy Museum home to Bruce the Shark
At 25-feet-long, Bruce the Shark is the largest object in the museum‘s collection and hangs outside of the fourth-floor exhibition space.
The Jaws exhibition will be accompanied by a series of film screenings, exclusive new merchandise, and public programmes.
“After 50 years, many of the accounts about the production of Jaws are as well-known as the film itself,” said senior exhibitions curator Jenny He.
“This exhibition uncovers the film’s multilayered mythologies and lore for both new and seasoned fans.
“It’s fascinating to think that Jaws was Steven Spielberg’s second theatrical feature film – the movie is a testament to the storied filmmaker’s early success as a tenacious visionary pushing creative boundaries.”
Images courtesy of the Academy Museum, lead image credit: Margaret Herrick Library / Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
