It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Shark Week! The ever-popular weeklong programming event on the Discovery Channel has been delighting shark enthusiasts now for 37 years. Twenty new original programs will be premiering from July 20 to July 26, so be sure to tune in for shows like “Dancing with Sharks” (hosted by Tom Bergeron), “Frankenshark” and “Battle for Shark Mountain.”

And, because it’s summer — and summer means shark movies, thanks to the original blockbuster, “Jaws” — you can also cue up a wet and wild movie marathon to make up your own cinematic Shark Week in addition to the regular Discovery programming.

Day 1: Kick it off with the original shark movie that started it all in 1975, “Jaws.” The film defined the modern blockbuster era and made Steven Spielberg one of our most important directors. The great thing about “Jaws” is how well it holds up, as a true masterpiece of suspense filmmaking. No one does it better than Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. Stream it on Netflix, Peacock, or rent it elsewhere.

Day 2: Back in 1999, LL Cool J rapped, “deepest, bluest, my hat is like a shark’s fin,” in the delightfully shlocky Renny Harlin shark flick “Deep Blue Sea.” Starring Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport and LL Cool J, this ridiculous shark movie is just the kind of silly entertainment the dog days of summer warrants. Rent it on all digital platforms.

Day 3: The shark movie went indie with the 2003 suspense thriller “Open Water,” about a pair of scuba divers who are left stranded by the dive boat and have to fend off sharks, loosely based on the tragic true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan. Directed by Chris Kentis, the low-budget film was a box office hit and an indie horror sensation in the early aughts. Stream it on Kanopy, Tubi, or rent it elsewhere.

Day 4: In 2016, Blake Lively breathed life into the shark genre with the delightful thriller “The Shallows,” directed by Spanish master of suspense Jaume Collet-Serra. Lively plays a surfer stalked by a shark while stranded on a rock in shallow water, with only a trusty seagull to guide her. Lean, mean and a requirement for a movie shark week. Stream it on Starz or rent it.

Day 5: From the shallows to the depths of the ocean, 2017’s “47 Meters Down” took it all the way to the ocean floor, in this horror thriller about two sisters who are trapped in a dive cage that plummets all the way down after a winch system breaks. Mandy Moore and Claire Holt star in the film by Johannes Roberts. Stream it on Netflix, Prime Video or Tubi.

Day 6: You know you’ve always wanted to see Jason Statham punch a shark, and in 2018’s “The Meg,” you can. It’s even a massive prehistoric shark called a megalodon, that’s freed from a trench and comes up to the surface to eat its fill of beachgoers. The only person who stands between the Meg and the public? Statham, naturally. Stream it on HBO Max or rent it elsewhere.

Day 7: It’s time for this year’s best shark movie, “Dangerous Animals,” a horror film about apex predators both human and fish. Directed by Sean Byrne, Jai Courtney stars as a serial killer who utilizes sharks in his ritualistic murders. “Dangerous Animals” is only available on PVOD at this time, for $19.99, but who can put a price on entertainment like that?

Happy feeding and a merry Shark Week to all who celebrate.

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