Fans of scary movies will soon find the 2003 thriller Open Water on HBO Max. The film, about a couple stranded at sea with sharks, is moving from Tubi to the streaming service at the start of a new month.
The new movie Open Water will start streaming on HBO Max on February 1st. It joins a large collection of films already available on the platform, like The Shape of Water, Life of Pi, and Zola.
The first film in the Open Water series, directed by married filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, tells the terrifying story of a couple accidentally left stranded at sea after a scuba diving trip. They must then struggle to survive, facing the threat of sharks.
As a total movie buff, I was fascinated to learn that “Open Water” was based on the tragic real story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, an American couple who vanished while scuba diving in Australia’s Coral Sea back in 1998. What’s even more incredible? The film was made for just $500,000 but went on to earn over $55.5 million in theaters – a huge success story!
Even though Open Water made 111 times its budget back, it received mixed reactions. Most viewers didn’t like the film, as reflected by its 33% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, professional critics generally had a positive experience with the movie.
The film Open Water has a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics highlighting its straightforward approach and how effectively it preys on basic human fears.
The intense fear created by Open Water led to two sequels: Open Water 2: Adrift (2007) and Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017). However, the original directors, Kentis and Lau, did not participate in making either of these later films.
Open WaterAimed To Subvert Shark Genre Stereotypes
The film Open Water gained a dedicated following, partly because it broke from typical filmmaking approaches. Director Chris Kentis revealed after the film’s premiere that he and co-director Laura Lau intentionally used real sharks during filming to make the story feel more realistic.
Kentis explained to IndieWire that he and Lau intentionally aimed for a different portrayal of sharks than typically seen in movies. From the beginning, they planned to use real animal actors. He pointed out that most shark films follow a predictable pattern – someone falls into the water and is attacked – and they wanted to create something more grounded in reality.
In addition to using real sharks in the movie, Kentis explained that he and Lau thoroughly researched the story it was based on. They investigated the disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, the experiences of other people lost at sea, and even drew on their own diving backgrounds.
I researched many real-life incidents of sailors stranded at sea during wartime, such as the story of the USS Indianapolis. However, for our film, we focused on how these events happened, and decided to create fictional characters because the specific individuals involved weren’t central to the story we wanted to tell.
Open Water is currently streaming for free on Tubi, and will swim to HBO Max on Feb. 1.
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2026-01-31 17:37