The shark movie “Meg 2: The Trench,” a sequel to its hit predecessor of 2018, opens in theaters across America today.
The Meg movies – Meg stands for megalodon, a now-extinct shark believed to be the largest ever – are entries in the long list of shark-related films we can’t seem to get enough of.
The trend started with “Jaws” in 1975. It wasn’t the first shark movie, but it did set the standard for all other shark films to follow. The Steven Spielberg blockbuster is the highest-rated shark pic of all time, according to the Internet Movie Database.
“Jaws” started a flood of shark films that has endured over nearly five decades. Whether a film is good, bad or silly, moviemakers know they can pull in audiences if they put a shark or two (or more) on a screen.
How scary scenes in ‘Jaws’ helped establish the shark movie genre
Why do sharks fascinate us?
There are a number of reasons. Like vampires, sharks are genuinely scary-looking with those teeth; they can hide and strike without warning; and they are predators that fill us with primal fear.
“Jaws” and films that followed it preyed on that fear, some of which keeps people out of the ocean even now. In response to fears that surfaced in American culture, educational shows like “Shark Week” were created to counter misinformation about sharks.
“Shark Week” premiered in 1988 and continues today on the Discovery Channel.
Shark movies since 1950: ‘Jaws’ still leads them all
Shark movies are profitable
The arrival of “Meg 2” is anticipated by fans of the first movie, which has grossed more than $145 million. While not all shark movies turn high profits, most are all but guaranteed to make some money.
That may explain “Sharknado,” a made-for-TV movie series in which sharks show up in the streets of Los Angeles after a freak weather event. Other such movies include “Noah’s Shark,” “Sharks of the Corn” and “Santa Jaws.”
Shark size does matter
Sharks are getting smarter, meaner and larger in movies. “Deep Blue Sea,” for example, postulated a team of scientists raising the intelligence level of sharks in their search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
The Meg movies use larger sharks to increase the menace. The megalodon in “Meg 2” is nearly the length of two modern Greyhound buses.
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Associated Press; Internet Movie Database
