The Shape of Water (2017)
A fairy tale for troubled times.
An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him escape.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 1 December 2017 |
| Genre | Drama, Fantasy, Romance |
| Director | Guillermo del Toro |
| Starring | Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon and Richard Jenkins |
| Runtime | 123 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.4/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 92% · Metacritic 87/100 · IMDb 7.3/10 · TMDB users 7.2/10 |
| Budget | $20 million |
Where to watch The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water is streaming on Max ($18.49 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Max is $18.49 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 25 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent The Shape of Water on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home and Spectrum On Demand. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Shape of Water in 66 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Albania | Max |
| Argentina | Disney+ $15599 ARS |
| Australia | Disney+ $17.99 AUD |
| Austria | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belgium | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belize | Disney+ |
| Bolivia | Disney+ |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Max |
| Brazil | Disney+ R$49.90 |
| Bulgaria | Disney+ €9.99, Max |
| Canada | Disney+ $15.99 CAD |
| Chile | Disney+ $10990 CLP |
| Colombia | Disney+ $36900 COP |
| Costa Rica | Disney+ |
| Croatia | Disney+ €9.99, Max |
| Czechia | Disney+ 219 Kč, Max |
| Denmark | Disney+ 119 kr DKK |
| Dominican Republic | Disney+ |
| Ecuador | Disney+ $11.49 |
| El Salvador | Disney+ |
| Finland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| France | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Germany | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Gibraltar | Prime Video |
| Greece | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Guatemala | Disney+ |
| Guernsey | Prime Video |
| Honduras | Disney+ |
| Hong Kong | Disney+ HK$88 |
| Hungary | Disney+ 2990 Ft, Max |
| Ireland | Prime Video €6.99, Disney+ €11.99 |
| Italy | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Jamaica | Disney+ |
| Japan | Disney+ ¥1250 JPY |
| Liechtenstein | Disney+ |
| Luxembourg | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Mexico | Disney+ $259 MXN |
| Moldova | Max |
| Montenegro | Max |
| Netherlands | Disney+ €10.99 |
| New Zealand | Disney+ $18.99 NZD |
| Nicaragua | Disney+ |
| North Macedonia | Max |
| Norway | Disney+ 129 kr NOK |
| Panama | Disney+ $12.49 |
| Paraguay | Disney+ |
| Peru | Disney+ S/49.90 |
| Poland | Disney+ 34.99 zł, Max 39.99 zł |
| Portugal | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Romania | Disney+ 34.99 lei, Max |
| San Marino | Disney+ |
| Serbia | Max |
| Singapore | Disney+ $18.98 SGD |
| Slovakia | Disney+ €9.99, Max |
| Slovenia | Max |
| South Korea | Disney+ ₩9900 |
| Spain | Disney+ €10.99 |
| St. Lucia | Disney+ |
| Sweden | Disney+ 129 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Disney+ CHF16.90 |
| Taiwan | Disney+ NT$285 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Disney+ |
| Türkiye | Disney+ ₺449.90 |
| United Kingdom | Prime Video £8.99 GBP, Disney+ £11.99 GBP |
| Uruguay | Disney+ about $U522 |
| Venezuela | Disney+ |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Guillermo del Toro directs a 123-minute fantasy romance that treats its 1962 setting as a backdrop for a quieter, stranger story. The tone is warm but tinged with the cold war’s paranoia, balancing high-concept fantasy with grounded, tactile detail. It is a film about connection in a world that has systematically dehumanized its protagonists. The hook is simple: a mute woman and a captive amphibian understand each other better than the people around them do. It plays like a myth grown in a laboratory basement, where love is an act of defiance rather than a declaration.
What the critics said
Critics largely agreed this was a triumph. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 92% approval rating as of November 2022, while Metacritic’s weighted average sits at 87 out of 100 as of June 2025. That is universal acclaim, a phrase Metacritic uses with some frequency. The critical consensus highlights the visual style and the lead performance. IndieWire’s Ben Croll called it "one of del Toro's most stunningly successful works." Not everyone was so charmed. Rex Reed of the New York Observer gave it one out of four stars, calling it "a loopy, lunkheaded load of drivel." His review was also dinged for factual errors about the cast, which hardly helps the argument.
How it did with audiences
It started on a budget of $20 million. The global take reached $194 million, a figure that makes the studio accountants nod with quiet satisfaction. On TMDB, users rate it 7.2 out of 10. IMDb watchers, as of June 2026, give it a weighted average of 7.3/10.
Awards
The Shape of Water took home 6 awards from 14 nominations. At the 2018 Oscars, it won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score. It also picked up the 2017 Golden Lion. That is a tidy haul for a film about a mermaid, though the Academy did let the acting and screenplay categories slip away.
What came next for the cast
Sally Hawkins went from a monster movie and a bear to a monster movie, a candy shop, and a return. Michael Shannon left the capes for a locked-room mystery, a train, and a superhero. Richard Jenkins traded a cabin in the woods for a serial killer’s story, a nightmare, and a scam. Octavia Spencer moved from a subway to a family, a witch, and a mother. The credits list what they did next, not what this film did to them. Correlations are not causation, even in Hollywood.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Shape of Water.
Sources
- The Shape of Water on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q26698156 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Shape of Water” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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