Steven Spielberg attends 'Jaws: The Exhibition’ preview at Academy Museum
Los Angeles, CA — September 2025 — To mark the 50th anniversary of Jaws, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is opening Jaws: The Exhibition, the largest exhibition ever dedicated to the 1975 Spielberg classic. The show opens September 14, 2025, and will run until July 26, 2026, in the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery.
The exhibition offers a scene-by-scene reconstruction of Jaws, taking visitors through the film from the opening credits to its dramatic finale. It includes more than 200 original objects from the movie—many of which have never before been on public display—alongside interactive moments and behind-the-scenes revelations.
Among the featured items is “Bruce,” the mechanical shark prop, which has long been part of Jaws lore. The exhibition has been curated with help from Steven Spielberg, The Amblin Hearth Archive, NBCUniversal Archives & Collections, and other major film archives.
A view inside Jaws: The Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Academy Museum
“Because I didn’t come prepared in 1974 to make Jaws, or not prepare very well enough, I decided to risk it again and not come prepared with any remarks today to talk to you. I’m empty-handed except for the collection of memories stimulated just in the last hour and a half of walking through the exhibition that they have so ingeniously assembled from the archives of collectors all over the world.”
A view inside Jaws: The Exhibition at the The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Academy Museum
Scale & Significance
The Academy Museum says Jaws: The Exhibition is unprecedented in its space allocation: the show uses some 11,000 square feet focused exclusively on a single film—the first time the museum has devoted this much room for just one title.
Steven Spielberg himself has reflected on how chaotic the film’s production was, especially dealing with the mechanical shark, which frequently malfunctioned. Yet, he said that preparing this exhibition has drawn out memories of both the challenges and the creative problem-solving that went into making Jaws. “It’s like being thrown … back to Martha’s Vineyard in the middle of the maelstrom … this impossible production that somehow happened.”
Additional Features & Public Programming
In addition to the curated objects and displays, the exhibition includes tours—standard and bilingual—original screenings (including Jaws in 4K), interactive experiences, and public conversations about the film’s cultural impact.
Why it Matters
Jaws isn’t just a horror/adventure icon: it changed the way Hollywood approached summer blockbusters, achieved critical acclaim (including Academy Award nominations and wins), and left a lasting mark on filmmaking, sound design, and film marketing. Revisiting the film in this depth—via its props, design, unseen materials—offers fans, scholars, and casual viewers alike a new perspective on how such a film was made, what its production difficulties were, and how it still resonates.