Jaws: The Revenge

Jaws: The Revenge
Theatrical release poster by Mick McGinty
Directed byJoseph Sargent
Written byMichael de Guzman
Based onCharacters
by Peter Benchley
Produced byJoseph Sargent
Starring
CinematographyJohn McPherson
Edited byMichael Brown
Music byMichael Small
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • July 17, 1987 (1987-07-17)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$23 million[2]
Box office$51.9 million[3]

Jaws: The Revenge is a 1987 American horror film produced and directed by Joseph Sargent. The fourth and final film in the Jaws franchise, it stars Lorraine Gary, who came out of retirement to reprise her role from the first two films, along with new cast members Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Karen Young and Michael Caine. Acting as a sequel to Jaws 2 (retroactively ignoring the events of Jaws 3-D), the film focuses on a now-widowed Ellen Brody (Gary) and her conviction that a great white shark is seeking revenge on her family, particularly when it kills her youngest son, and follows her to the Bahamas.

The film was made in less than nine months, with production commencing in September 1986 so that the film could be released the following summer.[4] The film was shot on location in New England and in the Bahamas and completed on the Universal lot. As with the first two films, Martha's Vineyard was the location of the fictional Amity Island for the opening scenes.[5] Delays caused by the mechanical sharks and the weather led to concerns about whether the release date would be met.[6] Many critics suggested that the rushed production compromised the quality of the film.[7] The film was marketed with the now infamous tagline "This time, it's personal."[8][9]

Jaws: The Revenge was the lowest grossing film of the franchise, with $51.9 million total gross on a $23 million budget[2] barely breaking even. It was universally lambasted by critics and audiences alike, who lamented the weak story, poor acting, and cheap-looking effects, and felt like the franchise had run its course.[7][10][11]

  1. ^ "JAWS – THE REVENGE (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. August 6, 1987. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Loock 2020, p. 210
  3. ^ "Jaws 4: The Revenge (1987)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference hunter681 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference downey22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Gross 1987, p. 24
  7. ^ a b Hunter 2019
  8. ^ Hunter 2019, p. 678
  9. ^ The tagline is quoted in many sources, out of context of the film, such as: Brickman 2011; McKinney 2019, p. 22
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ew was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "1987 Archive". Golden Raspberry Awards. Archived from the original on May 1, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2006.