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The Shallows

Play trailer 1:39 Poster for The Shallows PG-13 Released Jun 24, 2016 1h 27m Mystery & Thriller Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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79% Tomatometer 219 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Still reeling from the loss of her mother, medical student Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) travels to a secluded beach for some much-needed solace. Despite the danger of surfing alone, Nancy decides to soak up the sun and hit the waves. Suddenly, a great white shark attacks, forcing her to swim to a giant rock for safety. Left injured and stranded 200 yards from shore, the frightened young woman must fight for her life as the deadly predator circles her in its feeding ground.
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The Shallows

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Critics Consensus

Lean and solidly crafted, The Shallows transcends tired shark-attack tropes with nasty thrills and a powerful performance from Blake Lively.

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Critics Reviews

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Tara Brady Irish Times [A] reasonably entertaining, imprudently daft aquatic thriller. Rated: 3/5 Dec 5, 2016 Full Review David Stratton The Australian The realism of the early scenes -- leaving aside Nancy's unaccountable willingness to be stranded alone in a remote place -- is replaced by increasingly silly scenes that lead eventually to a nonsensical conclusion. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 19, 2016 Full Review David Sexton London Evening Standard About half of what is now going on in all cinema is the product of technological advances in film-making and The Shallows makes much more intelligent use of them than the superheroes do. Rated: 4/5 Aug 14, 2016 Full Review Guillermo Troncoso Screen Realm The Shallows stays afloat by keeping its premise fun, visceral and engaging. Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 21, 2025 Full Review Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson The shock value action is just what you want in this kind of movie and the stings linger like a knife slowly continuing to twist inside a wound. Rated: 3/5 Jul 28, 2025 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies “The Shallows” wisely stays true to its central concept. Its hook could easily wear thin if it extended itself too far, but the compact 80 minute running time keeps the tension high and the story moving forward. Rated: 4/5 Aug 25, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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John P Preposterous in terms of realism, but if you can willingly suspend all disbelief in almost every scene (it gets more and more preposterous as it unfolds), Lively does an incredible job of depicting the terror and the pain of her ordeal. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/06/25 Full Review Stephen C Successful shark movie in 1 hour and 27 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG-13 for Brief Strong Language, Bloody Images and Intense Sequences of Peril!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $55,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/27/25 Full Review Gareth v A movie that is carried by Blake Lively in this slick and at times tense thriller. The CGI shark is underwhelming and let's the film down. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/22/25 Full Review Ollie H Worst movie I’ve ever seen. Couldn’t have created a more annoying main character and it was a shame to see her survive. Furthermore it was also gut wrenching to see the other characters not survive, which in hindsight made her gain aura. I must also add that it was extremely unrealistic and she would’ve been long gone if I was the shark. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/05/25 Full Review Julian S THE SHALLOWS is a strong showcase for Lively, who outperforms the material; the finale, however, sinks it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/19/25 Full Review Madam D Pretty good as a horror thriller. Blake did a good job acting. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/31/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Shallows

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Movie Info

Synopsis Still reeling from the loss of her mother, medical student Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) travels to a secluded beach for some much-needed solace. Despite the danger of surfing alone, Nancy decides to soak up the sun and hit the waves. Suddenly, a great white shark attacks, forcing her to swim to a giant rock for safety. Left injured and stranded 200 yards from shore, the frightened young woman must fight for her life as the deadly predator circles her in its feeding ground.
Director
Jaume Collet-Serra
Producer
Lynn Harris, Matti Leshem
Screenwriter
Anthony Jaswinski
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Weimaraner Republic Pictures, Ombra Films
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|Bloody Images|Intense Sequences of Peril)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 24, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$55.1M
Runtime
1h 27m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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