Last Updated on 8 August 2026

The following list is a compilation of the 200 best ocean / nautical movies of all time.

I found 35 different ranked lists online of “best ocean or nautical movies of all time” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation. See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to all 35 lists that were averaged. Below is a checklist you can print to track which ones you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list with links to IMDb.

1. Jaws (1975)
2. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
4. Dead Calm (1989)
5. All Is Lost (2013)
6. Life of Pi (2012)
7. The Abyss (1989)
8. The Perfect Storm (2000)
9. Titanic (1997)
10. Captain Phillips (2013)
11. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
12. Adrift (2018)
13. Das Boot (1981)
14. Finding Nemo (2003)
15. Kon-Tiki (2012)
16. Moana (2016)
17. Triangle (2009)
18. Maiden (2018)
19. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
20. The Finest Hours (2016)
21. Open Water (2003)
22. Red Dot on the Ocean (2014)
23. White Squall (1996)
24. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
25. Maidentrip (2013)
26. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
27. The Shallows (2016)
28. Captain Ron (1992)
29. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
30. Wind (1992)
31. Cast Away (2000)
32. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
33. Morning Light (2008)
34. Lifeboat (1944)
35. Leviathan (1989)
36. Between Home – Odyssey of an Unusual Sea Bandit (2012)
37. Aquaman (2018)
38. Kon-Tiki (1950)
39. L’Atalante (1934)
40. Steamboat Willie (1928)
41. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
42. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
43. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
44. 47 Meters Down (2017)
45. Moby Dick (1956)
46. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
47. Below (2002)
48. True Spirit (2023)
49. The Deep (1977)
50. Crimson Tide (1995)
51. The Little Mermaid (2023)
52. The Big Blue (1988)
53. The Little Mermaid (1989)
54. Deep Rising (1998)
55. Sphere (1998)
56. The Bounty (1984)
57. Deepwater Horizon (2016)
58. The Deepest Breath (2023)
59. The Mercy (2018)
60. The African Queen (1951)
61. Waterworld (1995)
62. Captains Courageous (1937)
63. Dhamaal 4 (2026)
64. I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1968)
65. The North Water (2021)
66. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
67. The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
68. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
69. The Odyssey (2016)
70. The Dove (1974)
71. Ship of Fools (1965)
72. The Sea Wolf (1941)
73. Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
74. Overboard (2018)
75. The Cave (2005)
76. The Reef (2010)
77. Luca (2021)
78. Men of Honor (2000)
79. Sea Fever (2019)
80. Captain Blood (1935)
81. DeepStar Six (1989)
82. Piranha 3D (2010)
83. Boundless (2022)
84. Double Jeopardy (1999)
85. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
86. Ocean with David Attenborough (2025)
87. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
88. The Icebreaker (2016)
89. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
90. Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
91. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
92. The Sea Beast (2022)
93. Treasure Island (1950)
94. Deep Water (2006)
95. Greyhound (2020)
96. Black Sea (2014)
97. Longitude (2000)
98. Flow (2024)
99. The Sea Hawk (1940)
100. Seven Days from Now (1957)
101. U-571 (2000)
102. Last Breath (2025)
103. Underwater (2020)
104. The Meg (2018)
105. Apocalypse Now (1979)
106. Blue Miracle (2021)
107. Chasing Bubbles (2016)
108. Harriet (2019)
109. Poseidon (2006)
110. Thunderball (1965)
111. Jaws 2 (1978)
112. And the Ship Sails On (1983)
113. Cold Skin (2017)
114. Lake Placid (1999)
115. Song of the Sea (2014)
116. The Wave (2015)
117. Damn the Defiant! (1962)
118. Styx (2018)
119. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
120. Finding Dory (2016)
121. Happy Feet (2006)
122. Untold: The Race of the Century (2022)
123. Sanctum (2011)
124. Ghost Ship (2002)
125. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
126. K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
127. The Ghost Ship (1943)
128. Under Siege (1992)
129. Carry On Jack (1964)
130. Crossbones (2014)
131. Moana 2 (2024)
132. Oceans (2008)
133. Triangle of Sadness (2022)
134. Crawl (2019)
135. Doraemon: Nobita’s Treasure Island (2018)
136. Hook (1991)
137. The Caine Mutiny (1954)
138. Treasure Island (1934)
139. Into the Blue (2005)
140. Juggernaut (1974)
141. Tenet (2020)
142. Glass Onion (2022)
143. The Maggie (1954)
144. Zak Storm (2016)
145. Abandoned (2015)
146. The Spanish Main (1945)
147. Dark Tide (2012)
148. A Night to Remember (1958)
149. Fool’s Gold (2008)
150. One Piece (2023)
151. Ponyo (2008)
152. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
153. The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)
154. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)
155. Death on the Nile (1978)
156. Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef (2016)
157. Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World (2017)
158. The Beach (2000)
159. The Boat (2011)
160. The Last Voyage (1960)
161. Turning Tide (2013)
162. Open Water 2: Adrift (2006)
163. The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure (2022)
164. Knife in the Water (1962)
165. Jungle Cruise (2021)
166. The Disappeared (2012)
167. The Riddle of the Sands (1979)
168. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)
169. The Legend of 1900 (1998)
170. The Navigator (1924)
171. Charlie St. Cloud (2010)
172. Octonauts & the Great Barrier Reef (2020)
173. The Deep (2012)
174. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
175. Assault on a Queen (1966)
176. Billy Budd (1962)
177. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
178. The Sea Chase (1955)
179. Drifting Home (2022)
180. Nostos: The Return (1989)
181. Orca (1977)
182. Iron Lung (2026)
183. Octonauts: The Ring of Fire (2021)
184. Sharknado (2013)
185. Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean (2021)
186. The Beast (1996)
187. The Enemy Below (1957)
188. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
189. Gray Lady Down (1978)
190. Shark Night (2011)
191. The Dive (2023)
192. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Rehydrated (2022)
193. Yellow Submarine (1968)
194. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
195. Monkey Business (1931)
196. Blood Alley (1955)
197. Bait (2000)
198. Blueback (2022)
199. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
200. China Seas (1935)