Jaws: what age is it for? 12 alone, 11 with a parent
12 alone, 11 with a parent.
Official US rating: PG; zinema says 12. In France, zinema would say 12.
Alone, or with you
The official US rating is PG; we never go below it, and here we go above: 12. Alone from 12; from 11, with an adult or by talking about it afterwards.
The sweet spot: around 12-15, when they love being scared and start to understand that what they cannot see is scarier than what they can. If your child spends every summer swimming in the sea, wait until they are 13. Why a sweet spot?
The trailer
What it's about
When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to kill the beast before it strikes again.
Why 12
- Above the official rating, and whyRated PG in the US (parental guidance suggested). We say 12: a shark that takes a swimmer at night and a child in broad daylight, a man devoured with blood in close-up, a dead fisherman's head bursting out of the dark, and a chilling shipwreck story. Its PG dates from 1975, years before any rating existed between PG and R.reading
- A man devoured, in close-upBlood is rare, but it leaves a mark: a severed arm lifted out of a tray at the morgue, a swimmer's leg sinking to the bottom, and a man eaten alive, blood gushing from his mouth in close-up as the sea turns red around him.shown
- A child killed at the beachThe shark takes a young woman at night in the very first scene, then a boy on his raft in broad daylight, in front of the whole beach: the water turns red and the torn raft washes back to shore. Later, the hero's son sees a man attacked right next to him.shown
- A head bursting out of the darkMost of the fear comes from waiting: the music that announces the shark, swimmers' legs seen from below, the sea at night. Three shocks will make you jump, including a dead fisherman's head that bursts out of a hull during a night dive.shown
- A chilling shipwreck storyAn old sailor tells, with no images at all, how his shipmates were torn apart by sharks after their ship went down during the war, and how a friend was found bitten in half. Nothing is shown, but it is one of the hardest scenes in the film.said
- Swearing, drinking, a nude swimA young woman undresses and swims naked at night, seen only in silhouette. There is some swearing (damn, hell, son of a bitch), and the adults drink and smoke a lot, especially in the evenings on the boat.shown
What the movie brings
- The great scary movie that makes you tremble while barely showing its monster: the music and the waiting do almost everything.
- A man who is afraid of the water and goes out anyway, because no one else will protect the swimmers.
- A mayor who would rather hide the danger to save the summer season: a way into talking about lying and responsibility.
Watching it together
You can tell them that attacks like these are extremely rare in real life, and stay close for the last half hour at sea, the most violent part.
at 12 and up
Why does the mayor refuse to close the beaches, and should the police chief have stood up to him sooner?
See the facts
For the same age, on zinema
The latest guides
- La Bataille de Gaulle - partie 1 : L'Âge de Fer 13, 12 with a parent
- La Belle et la Bête 12, 11 with a parent
- Le Grand Bain 12, 11 with a parent
- Kaamelott : Deuxième Volet, partie 1 12, 11 with a parent
A zinema reading from October 12, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made