Open Water (film series)

2003 American film

Open Water

Official film series logo

Based on| loosely on a True Story
Distributed by| Warner Bros. Entertainment

Release date

| 2003–2017
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| ~$2,068,100
(Total of 3 films)
Box office| $64,001,222
(Total of 3 films)

The Open Water film series consists of American-distributed standalone survival-horror and natural horror-shark thriller movies, inspired by the real-life disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan. The overall plot centers around individuals who are stranded in the ocean and must fight to survive the hours alone.

The first film was a massive financial and critical success,[1][2] with film critics praising its minimalistic filmmaking.[3] The sequels were met with mixed-at-best and poor respective critical reception,[4][5] while both fared well overall financially.[6][7]

## Films[edit]

Film  | U.S.
release date  | Director  | Screenwriter(s)  | Story by  | Producer(s)

|
|
|
|
|

Open Water | August 6, 2004 (2004-08-06) | Chris Kentis | Laura Lau
Open Water 2: Adrift | February 20, 2007 (2007-02-20) | Hans Horn [de] | Adam Kreutner & David Mitchell and
Collin McMahon & Richard Speight, Jr. | Dan Maag and Philip Schulz-Deyle
Open Water 3: Cage Dive | August 11, 2017 (2017-08-11) | Gerald Rascionato  | Gerald Rascionato & Stephen Lister  | Charles M. Barsamian, Rana Joy Glickman, Jake Gray, Antoine Mouawad and Gerald Rascionato

### Open Water (2004)[edit]

Main article: Open Water (film)

Daniel and Susan take a tropical vacation, which includes scuba-diving adventures. Excited for their diving certifications, the pair dive deeper than the rest of their group and get separated. Following an incorrect head-count and believing the entire class is accounted for, the boat returns to land. When the couple resurfaces, they see a vessel in the distance and decide to wait for its return. As time passes, and stranded miles from shore with Caribbean reef sharks stalking them below, the likelihood of their survival grows smaller by the moment.[8]

### Open Water 2: Adrift (2007)[edit]

Main article: Open Water 2: Adrift

Amy and James, with their baby Sarah, travel to Mexico to celebrate their friend Zach's thirtieth birthday. Upon arriving, they're reunited with common friends, Zach, Lauren, and Dan. Together they set sail on Dan's new yacht, where they're introduced to his new girlfriend named Michelle. The group party, drinking alcohol while they reminisce. When they stop for a swim, Amy stays in the boat with her baby and no intention to join the rest, due to a childhood traumatic event in the ocean. Dan keeps her company for a time, before he picks her up and throws her into the water below. Irresponsibly, he falls overboard as well. Once everyone is in the water, it's realized that no one lowered the ladder while they were on deck. Following hours of struggling and failing to climb the freeboard, Michelle claims that she saw sharks in the water and unsettling exhaustion overtakes the group. Stranded in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, panic and desperation leads to a tragic fight for survival; while Amy must use her motherly instincts to return to her daughter, to overcome her fears. As time passes, their chances of survival lessen.

### Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017)[edit]

Main article: Open Water 3: Cage Dive

Determined to experience adrenaline-filled thrills of coming face-to-face with great white sharks, three friends from California travel to Australia for a cage-diving encounter. Josh, together with his half-brother Jeff and Jeff's girlfriend Megan, set out to film an audition tape for an extreme stunts reality-TV show. Tensions arise when Jeff discovers that Josh and Megan are having an affair. Things take a despairing turn while they are in the safety of the shark-proof cage, when a rogue wave capsizes their boat leaving the trio stranded in the open water of the sea. As the day turns to night, hysteric fear overtakes them as a swarm of hungry sharks hunt them from below. As the predators close in on them, the friends do all they can to survive until morning.[9]

## Main cast and characters[edit]

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

* An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
* Y indicates a younger version of the character.

Character  | Films

|

Open Water | Open Water 2:
Adrift | Open Water 3:
Cage Dive
2004 | 2007 | 2017
Susan Watkins  | Blanchard Ryan |
Daniel Kintner  | Daniel Travis  |
Amy  |  | Susan May Pratt

* * *

Alexandra RaachY |
James  |  | Richard Speight, Jr. |
Dan  |  | Eric Dane |
Michelle  |  | Cameron Richardson |
Zach  |  | Niklaus Lange  |
Lauren  |  | Ali Hillis |
Sarah  |  | Mattea Gabarretta &
Christine Gabarratta  |
Jeff Miller  |  | Joel Hogan
Josh Miller  |  | Josh Potthoff
Megan Murphy  |  | Megan Peta Hill

## Additional crew and production details[edit]

Film  | Crew/Detail

|

Composer(s)  | Cinematographer(s)  | Editor(s)  | Production
companies  | Distributing
company  | Running time
Open Water | Graeme Revell | Chris Kentis & Laura Lau  | Chris Kentis  | Lions Gate Films,
Plunge Pictures LLC,
Eastgate Pictures  | Lions Gate Films  | 89 minutes
Open Water 2: Adrift | Gerd Baumann  | Bernhard Jasper  | Christian Lonk  | Summit Entertainment,
Universum Film,
Orange Pictures,
Peter Rommel Productions,
Shotgun Pictures,
FilmFernsehFonds Bayern | Lions Gate Entertainment | 94 minutes
Open Water 3: Cage Dive | Andy Grush & Taylor Newton Stewart | Gerald Tascionato & Andy Bambach  | Gerald Rascionato, Antoine Mouawad & Andre Stamatakakos  | Lionsgate Home Entertainment,
Just One More Productions,
Exit Strategy Productions  | Lionsgate | 80 minutes

## Reception[edit]

For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.

### Box office and financial performance[edit]

Film  | Box office gross  | Box office ranking  | Video
sales gross  | Worldwide
gross total  | Budget  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

North America  | Other territories  | Worldwide  | All-time
North America  | All-time
worldwide  | North America
Open Water | $30,610,863  | $25,017,759  | $55,628,622  | #2,786  | #2,783  | Information not publicly available | >$55,628,622  | $500,000  | [1][10]
Open Water 2: Adrift | —  | $6,816,129  | $6,816,129  | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | >6,816,129  | ~$1,448,100[failed verification] | [6]
Open Water 3: Cage Dive | —  | $1,486,774  | $1,486,774  | #8,434  | #12,696  | $69,697  | $1,556,471  | $120,000  | [7][11]
Totals  | $30,610,863  | $33,320,662  | $63,931,525  | #3,740  | #5,160  | $69,697  | >$64,001,222  | ~$2,068,100  |

### Critical and public response[edit]

Film  | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic

|
|

Open Water | 71% (196 reviews)[2] | 63/100 (38 reviews)[12]
Open Water 2: Adrift | 45% (11 reviews)[4] | —
Open Water 3: Cage Dive | 25% (8 reviews)[5] | TBD[13]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Open Water". Box Office Mojo.
2. ^ a b "Open Water (2003)" - via www.rottentomatoes.com.
3. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 6, 2004). "'Open Water' churns emotions with quiet terror". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
4. ^ a b "Open Water 2: Adrift (2006)" - via www.rottentomatoes.com.
5. ^ a b "Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017)" - via www.rottentomatoes.com.
6. ^ a b "Open Water 2: Adrift". Box Office Mojo.
7. ^ a b "Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
8. ^ Scheib, Ronnie (November 4, 2003). "Open Water". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
9. ^ Halen, Adrian (December 29, 2017). "Film Review: Open Water 3 Cage Dive (2017)". HorrorNews.Net. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
10. ^ "Open Water (2004) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
11. ^ Weinman, Steve (December 2017). "Cage Dive Written & Directed by Gerald Rascionato". Divernet. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
12. ^ "Open Water" - via www.metacritic.com.
13. ^ "Open Water 3: Cage Dive" - via www.metacritic.com.

*[Ref.]: References