# Sharksploitation

Sharksploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film that involves sharks or shark attacks. The genre emerged in the wake of the 1975 film Jaws and its sequels, but fell in popularity soon after. The 1999 film Deep Blue Sea brought it back to public prominence. Other examples of sharksploitation films include Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009), Dinoshark, Sharktopus (both 2010), Snow Shark (2012), Ghost Shark (2013), Avalanche Sharks (2014), and the Sharknado film series (2013–2018).
In 2023, a feature-length documentary film about the subgenre, titled Sharksploitation, was produced and released by Shudder.

## Notable sharksploitation films

| Year | Films | Series | Genre |
| 1975 | Jaws | Jaws | Thriller |
| 1975 | Sharks' Treasure | N/A | Adventure |
| 1976 | Mako: The Jaws of Death | N/A | Thriller |
| 1976 | Shark Kill | N/A | Adventure |
| 1977 | Tintorera, also known as Tintorera: Killer Shark. | N/A | Horror |
| 1978 | Jaws 2 | Jaws | Thriller |
| 1978 | Cyclone (Spanish: El Ciclón), also known as Terror Storm | N/A | Survival/Horror |
| 1981 | The Last Shark, also known as Great White | N/A | Horror |
| 1983 | Jaws 3-D | Jaws | Thriller |
| 1984 | Monster Shark, also known as Italian, lit. "Shark - Rosso nell'oceano" | N/A | Horror/Sci-fi |
| 1987 | Jaws: The Revenge | Jaws | Thriller |
| 1989 | Night of the Sharks | N/A | Action |
| 1989 | Deep Blood, also known as Sharks or Sangue negli abissi (Italian, lit. "Blood in the Abyss") | N/A | Adventure/Horror |
| 1995 | Cruel Jaws | N/A | Thriller |
| 1999 | Deep Blue Sea | Deep Blue Sea | Sci-fi/Horror |
| 1999 | Shark Attack | Shark Attack | Thriller |
| 2000 | Shark Attack 2 | Shark Attack | Thriller |
| 2002 | Shark Attack 3: Megalodon | Shark Attack | Thriller |
| 2003 | Open Water | Open Water | Survival/Thriller |
| 2003 | Red Water | N/A | Action/Horror |
| 2003 | Shark Zone | N/A | Horror |
| 2004 | 12 Days Of Terror | N/A | Horror/Thriller |
| 2004 | Blue Demon | N/A | Sci-fi/Horror |
| 2005 | Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy, also known as Sharkman or Hammerhead | N/A | Sci-fi/Action/Horror |
| 2005 | Raging Sharks | N/A | Sci-fi/Action/Horror |
| 2005 | Spring Break Shark Attack | N/A | Action/Adventure/Drama |
| 2008 | Shark Swarm, also known as Great White | N/A | Thriller |
| 2008 | Shark in Venice, also known as Sharks in Venice in the U.S. | N/A | Natural horror/Action |
| 2009 | Jaws in Japan, also known as Psycho Shark | N/A (unrelated to the Jaws franchise) | Horror |
| 2009 | Malibu Shark Attack, also known as Mega Shark Of Malibu | It is a part of the SyFy Channel's Maneater series (which is unrelated to the Shark Attack or Mega Shark franchises), along with Shark Swarm, Shark Killer, and 25 other natural horror creature features. | Natural horror |
| 2009 | Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus | Mega Shark Versus | Creature feature |
| 2010 | Dinoshark | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
| 2010 | Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus | Mega Shark Versus | Creature feature |
| 2010 | The Reef | N/A | Thriller |
| 2010 | Sharktopus | Sharktopus | Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy |
| 2011 | Sand Sharks | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
| 2011 | Shark Night | N/A | Thriller |
| 2011 | Super Shark | N/A | Sci-fi/Action |
| 2011 | Swamp Shark | N/A | Thriller |
| 2012 | 2-Headed Shark Attack | Multi-Headed Shark Attack | Survival horror |
| 2012 | Bait 3D | N/A | Horror/Disaster |
| 2012 | Dark Tide | N/A | Action/Horror/Thriller |
| 2012 | Jersey Shore Shark Attack | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
| 2012 | Jurassic Shark, also known as Attack Of The Jurassic Shark | Jurassic Shark | Horror/Comedy |
| 2012 | Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast | Snow Shark | Horror/Comedy |
| 2012 | Ghost Shark | Ghost Shark | Horror/Comedy |
| 2013 | Sharknado | Sharknado | Sci-fi/Disaster |
| 2014 | Avalanche Sharks | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
| 2014 | Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark | Mega Shark Versus | Horror/Comedy |
| 2014 | Sharknado 2: The Second One | Sharknado | Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy |
| 2014 | Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda | Sharktopus | Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy |
| 2014 | Piranha Sharks | N/A | Comedy/Horror |
| 2015 | Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf | Sharktopus | Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy |
| 2015 | Shark Exorcist | Shark Exorcist | Action/Horror |
| 2015 | 3-Headed Shark Attack | Multi-Headed Shark Attack | Action/Horror |
| 2015 | Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws | Ghost Shark | Supernatural/Horror/Comedy |
| 2015 | Mega Shark Versus Kolossus | Mega Shark Versus | Sci-fi/Comedy |
| 2015 | Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! | Sharknado | Action/Horror/Comedy |
| 2015 | Roboshark, also known as Robo Shark vs. Navy Seals | N/A | Action/Adventure/Comedy |
| 2015 | Shark Lake (film) | N/A | Action/Horror |
| 2016 | Atomic Shark | N/A | Action/Horror |
| 2016 | Ozark Sharks, also known as Summer Shark Attack | N/A | Horror/Thriller/Comedy |
| 2016 | The Shallows | N/A | Survival/Horror |
| 2016 | Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre | N/A | Sci-fi/Horror |
| 2016 | Sharkenstein | N/A | Sci-fi/Action/Comedy |
| 2016 | Sharknado: The 4th Awakens | Sharknado | Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy |
| 2017 | 5-Headed Shark Attack | Multi-Headed Shark Attack | Sci-fi/Horror |
| 2017 | 47 Meters Down | 47 Meters Down | Survival/Horror |
| 2017 | House Shark | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
| 2017 | Open Water 3: Cage Dive | Open Water | Found footage/Survival/Horror |
| 2017 | Sharknado 5: Global Swarming | Sharknado | Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy |
| 2018 | The Last Sharknado: It's About Time | Sharknado | Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy |
| 2018 | Deep Blue Sea 2 | Deep Blue Sea | Sci-fi/Horror |
| 2018 | The Meg | The Meg | Sci-fi/Action |
| 2019 | 47 Meters Down: Uncaged | 47 Meters Down | Survival/Horror |
| 2019 | Capsized: Blood in the Water | N/A | Survival/Horror |
| 2020 | Deep Blue Sea 3 | Deep Blue Sea | Sci-fi/Horror |
| 2020 | Sky Sharks | N/A | Sci-fi/Comedy/Horror |
| 2020 | Ouija Shark | Ouija Shark | Comedy/Horror/Action |
| 2021 | Sharks Of The Corn | N/A | Horror |
| 2021 | Swim (film) | N/A | Horror/Action |
| 2022 | Ouija Shark 2 | Ouija Shark | Action/Horror/Comedy |
| 2022 | The Reef: Stalked | The Reef | Horror |
| 2022 | The Requin | N/A | Horror/Thriller |
| 2022 | Maneater (Shark film) | N/A | Action/Horror |
| 2023 | Sharktopus Remade in China | Sharktopus | Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy |
| 2023 | Meg 2: The Trench | The Meg | Sci-Fi/Action |
| 2023 | Cocaine Shark, also known as Kanizame Shakurabu | N/A | Crime/Drama/Horror |
| 2023 | Big Shark | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
| 2024 | The Black Demon | N/A | Sci-Fi/Thriller |
| 2024 | No Way Up | N/A | Survival/Thriller |
| 2024 | Shark Exorcist 2: Unholy Waters | Shark Exorcist | Action/Horror |
| 2024 | Shark Island (film) | N/A | Action/Horror |
| 2024 | Something In The Water | N/A | Survival/Thriller |
* 1 2 Open Water 2 has been excluded from this list. Although it is nominally part of the Open Water franchise, it is thematically unrelated to either Open Water or Open Water 3.
* ↑ Cocaine Shark does feature character and geographical connections to both the Jurassic Shark franchise and Sharkenstein film, it is thematically unrelated to either film at this stage, with actors playing different characters in each film.