ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES TO PRESENT JAWS: THE EXHIBITION

AMTV, LOS ANGELES, CA, March 2, 2025—The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced on the 97th Oscars® telecast that it will present Jaws: The Exhibition, on view September 14, 2025–July 26, 2026. The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s film, a culture-defining thriller that continues to be a fixture in popular culture. This 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 (1975), the Oscar®-winning film from Universal Pictures. The exhibition will feature over 200 original objects—including concept illustrations by production designer Joe Alves, a costume worn by Roy Scheider as Brody, original shark design schematics by design engineer Frank Wurmser, and a screen used prop dorsal fin—plus behind-the-scenes revelations and interactive moments. Jaws: The Exhibition will illustrate how the film became the first summer blockbuster that forever changed the motion picture industry. Tickets for Jaws: The Exhibition are available to purchase now.

Curated with direct access to the collections from Steven Spielberg and The Amblin Hearth Archive, NBCUniversal Archives & Collections, and more, Jaws: The Exhibition has visitors step into the world of the iconic film, scene-by-scene, as it translates the movie into a spatial experience for all-ages audiences.

“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 Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma.

“After 50 years, many of the accounts about the production of Jaws are as well-known as the film itself. This exhibition uncovers the film’s multilayered mythologies and lore for both new and seasoned fans,” said Senior Exhibitions Curator Jenny He. “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.”

The Academy Museum has been home to the sole surviving full-scale model of the shark from Jaws since the museum’s opening in 2021. At 25-feet-long, “Bruce the Shark” is the largest object in the Academy’s collection and currently hangs outside of the museum’s 4th floor exhibition space where it will remain on-view during the exhibition.

Jaws: The Exhibition is organized by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jenny He and Assistant Curator Emily Rauber Rodriguez, with Curatorial Assistant Alexandra James Salichs. It will be the museum’s fifth large-scale exhibition in its Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery, following Hayao Miyazaki (2021–22), Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 (2022–23), John Waters: Pope of Trash (2023–24), and Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema (which closes July 13, 2025).

The exhibition will be accompanied by a dynamic series of film screenings, exclusive new merchandise, and public programs to be announced at a later date.

Exhibition Credit: Jaws: The Exhibition is supported by the Givenchy Family, Emma Koss, Yeardley Smith, and Richard Talley.

The Academy Museum is the largest museum in the world devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. The museum advances the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the museum’s campus contains the restored and revitalized historic Saban Building—formerly known as the May Company building (1939)—and a soaring spherical addition. Together, these buildings contain 50,000 square feet of exhibition spaces, two state-of-the-art theaters, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, and beautiful public spaces that are free and open to the public. These include: The Walt Disney Company Piazza and the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, which houses the Spielberg Family Gallery, Academy Museum Store, and Fanny’s restaurant and café. The Academy Museum is open six days a week from 10am to 6pm.

Directed by Oscar-winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your-seat suspense, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the movie industry 50 years ago on June 20, 1975. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss), and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. Featuring an unforgettable, pulse-racing score, five decades later, Jaws remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history.

Image Credits:(L-R) Director Steven Spielberg, kneeling with camera, during production of Jaws (1975). Others unidentified. Courtesy of Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Director Steven Spielberg during production of Jaws (1975). Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC; Jaws (1975) production clapperboard. Courtesy of The Amblin Hearth Archive; Cast and crew during production of Jaws (1975). Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC; Concept illustration by production designer Joe Alves. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC.