Television played a crucial role in making everyone’s favorite sharkfest a blockbuster hit
This image released by Peacock shows, from left, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss in a scene from "Jaws." (Peacock/Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Peacock shows, from left, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss in a scene from "Jaws." (Peacock/Universal Pictures via AP)Uncredited/Associated Press
They keep coming in waves, all those TV ads for movie summer blockbusters: for “How to Train Your Dragon” (opened June 13), then for ”F1® The Movie" (opened June 27), “Jurassic World Rebirth” (July 2), “Superman” (July 11), “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (opens July 25). They aired so often during the NBA playoffs, it would be understandable if viewers started wondering how well Toothless the Dragon could protect the rim or whether Brad Pitt has much of a jab step.
Blame those waves of ads on a single movie, a movie in which actual waves play no small part. There’s been a lot written about “Jaws” lately, inspired by the 50th anniversary of its release. Little attention has been paid to the twofold role television played in its massive success.
Back in 1975, Hollywood still primarily relied on print advertising, word of mouth, and trailers to generate publicity for movie openings. Universal, the studio that released “Jaws,” tried a different approach. Just prior to the movie’s premiere, it ran $700,000-worth of ads on prime-time television. That would be $4.2 million today. Not much compared to the $125 worldwide million budgeting for “F1®”, but big bucks back then -- and a gamble.
The gamble definitely paid off. The phenomenal commercial success of “Jaws” -- it took less than three months for Steven Spielberg’s movie to overtake “The Godfather” as the top-grossing film of all time -- meant that Hollywood wasted little time adopting TV advertising as its preferred method for publicizing high-profile releases. Fifty years later, the media landscape is much altered, with TV now an umbrella term for network and cable and streaming. What hasn’t changed is the TV-centric ad strategy pioneered by “Jaws.”
The other way television was important in the success of “Jaws” was its having provided the training ground for its young director. Spielberg’s feature-film debut had come the year before, with “The Sugarland Express.” But TV was where he learned his craft. Spielberg directed episodes of several network series -- “Night Gallery,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” The Name of the Game," “The Psychiatrist,” “Columbo,” and “Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law” -- and three television movies: “Duel,” “Something Evil,” and “Savage.” “Duel” made such an impression, Universal released an extended version in theaters.
Ocean Ramsey, with friend, in "Shark Whisperer."
Ocean Ramsey, with friend, in "Shark Whisperer."Netflix
Of course the relationship between “Jaws” and TV would work both ways. “Jaws” certified shark star power -- and television hasn’t been shy about exploiting it. So maybe you’ve heard of Shark Week? The 37th iteration arrives on the Discovery Channel July 20. In the meantime, Netflix rolls out not one but two shark documentaries this week: “Shark Whisperer” (June 30) and “All the Sharks” (July 4).
Mark Feeney can be reached at mark.feeney@globe.com.