The Shallows

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1:39

The Shallows

PG-13

2016

1h 27m

Mystery & Thriller

Adventure

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Popcornmeter

78%

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218 Reviews

59%

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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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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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Tara Brady

Irish Times

12/05/2016

3/5

[A] reasonably entertaining, imprudently daft aquatic thriller.

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David Stratton

The Australian

08/19/2016

2.5/5

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.

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David Sexton

London Evening Standard

08/14/2016

4/5

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.

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Guillermo Troncoso

Screen Realm

08/21/2025

3.5/5

The Shallows stays afloat by keeping its premise fun, visceral and engaging.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

07/28/2025

3/5

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.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/25/2022

4/5

“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.

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Dr. P

@DrPLAYsure 16h

Plot faker than her boobs. Speaking of which, the shark to boob ratio in this moving picture is ABYSmal. The movie would be 30 minutes if all the unnecessary slow motion shots were normal speed. Gets one star instead of half a star because there’s a shark in it with some half decent shots.

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B P

@Bradster69 18h

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Martin B

@RT10053842 1d

The movie is exciting, and I enjoyed it, but it exploits unrealistic attitudes toward sharks popularized by Jaws. Sharks kill to eat, and they rarely attack people. They aren't psychopathic serial killers attacking humans only to injure and kill them for no reason. Even a Great White wouldn't attack more than one of the victims in this movie. It wouldn't circle a victim waiting to attack again and again especially with a large meal nearby.

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Keira C

@RT61262899 Aug 22

Great movie. I put it on to fall asleep, it’s been 3 hours since movie ended and i’m wide awake. It was suspenseful, interesting, cinematically beautiful, and had me afraid to step out of bed to use the bathroom. Most shark movies are a bust, this would rank top 4 at least.

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Brittany E

@brittsnotboring Aug 21

I need to watch this again to give a good description tbh

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Albert T

@albert6565 Aug 20

Pretty intense I did not know if she was going to survive Blake lively was excellent

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Jaume Collet-Serra

Director

Blake Lively

Nancy

Óscar Jaenada

Carlos

Brett Cullen

Dad

Sedona Legge

Chloe

Pablo Calva

Boy

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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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