The Most Memorable Beach Scenes in Movie History

Juan (Mahershala Ali) teaching Chiron (Ashton Sanders) to swim as he learns to keep his head above water is arguably one of the most symbolic and beautiful scenes in Moonlight.

Before things start to get scary, Kitty (Elisabeth Moss), Gabe (Winston Duke), and Red (Lupita Nyong’o) hit the beach.

Lovers Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Alexis (Alexa Demie) fall deeper and deeper in love in this romantic beach scene.

While boating, Rosie gets paranoid and threatens to kill one of James Bond’s allies. Luckily, nothing happened (the safety trigger was on).

There are two important beach scenes in Furious 7. In the first, the group relaxes on the shores of Abu Dhabi after completing their harrowing rescue mission of the computer hacker, Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel). At the end of the action movie, Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) share a tender moment on the beach with their families, before driving off into the sunset together one last time.

Winston (Taye Diggs) and his beach body definitely help Stella (Angela Bassett) get her “groove” back.

Rocking a bikini with a knife holster, Jinx (Halle Berry) walks up the beach to chat with Bond (Pierce Brosnan).

In the midst of their whirlwind summer love, Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) take some time to frolic in the waves. “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird!”

Mike (Channing Tatum) gets flirty with Brooke (Cody Horn) during a day at the beach – but sadly without his sexy dance moves.

Peter (Jason Segel) has an awkward beach encounter with rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) after Aldous hurts himself during a surfing outing.

It’s summer lovin’ for Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) before they unexpectedly run into each other at school.

Emily (Kathryn McCormick) and Sean (Ryan Guzman) take their relationship out of the studio during a day at the beach.

Nothing clears a beach quite like a shark sighting! In one of the film’s more memorable scenes, families run out of the water when they hear of the shark.

Jared (Paul Walker) and Sam (Jessica Alba) are a match made in beautiful, beachy heaven.

After discovering a clue that may lead them to lost treasure, Finn (Matthew McConaughey) recruits Tess (Kate Hudson) for a beach adventure in Key West.

As she’s prepping for a major competition, Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) hits the beach – and the waves – with the rest of her surfer-girl posse.

For Natalie (Cameron Diaz) and Madison (Demi Moore), it’s another day, another mission, another bikini.

Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow) soaks up some sun while cavorting around Europe with Dickie (Jude Law).

Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg) is all about taking on the cultural customs while she’s abroad, even at the nude beaches.

When she sports a bikini at the beach, Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) turns heads and starts to make Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) jealous.

When Walter (John Cusack) takes a cross-country trip, there’s a “sure thing” (Nicollette Sheridan) waiting for him at the beach.

Four couples travel to a tropical island to reignite the sparks in their marriages, but it’s not exactly the paradise they’d expected.

While traveling around Thailand, Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) ends up on a deserted beach island and finds out he’s not alone.

Claude (Hank Azaria) rocks a swimsuit that’s even smaller than Lisa’s (Debra Messing) at the beach.

It’s the early ’90s and SanDeE* (Sarah Jessica Parker) hits the beach in – what else? – spandex shorts.

John (Channing Tatum) keeps Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) close during a day at the beach.

Gold-digging Wendy (Jennifer Love Hewitt) uses her feminine wiles – including a great bikini body – on love interests like Jack (Jason Lee).

When Bond (Daniel Craig) takes an ocean dip in Casino Royale, it’s the male answer to Ursula Andress’s famous water scene in Dr. No.

Joined at the hip (literally), Bob (Matt Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnear) turn heads at the beach.

Affianced couple Darcy (Kate Hudson) and Dex (Colin Egglesfield) take a romantic stroll in the Hamptons – even though he’s really thinking about Darcy’s best friend.

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) and Demo (Bradley Cooper) would rather surf and live it up than move out of their parents’ houses.

When Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) spends the Summer at her dad’s beach house, she falls into a whirlwind young-love romance with Will (Liam Hemsworth).

Surf’s up for Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves).

In Joel’s subconscious, things take a surreal turn when Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) find themselves on the beach . . . in bed.

It’s not exactly a normal relationship when Allen (Tom Hanks) falls for Madison (Daryl Hannah), a mermaid.

After a crash landing, Chuck (Tom Hanks) is forced to learn the ropes of island living – long, shaggy hair and all.

In one of the most iconic bikini scenes of all time, Jenny (Bo Derek) steps out of the ocean in a flesh-colored swimsuit.

When his wife is hurt in a boating accident, Matt (George Clooney) takes his two daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) to Kauai to tie up some loose ends.

In a typical Nicholas Sparks fashion, it’s either fate, destiny, or one giant coincidence that brings Garret (Kevin Costner) and Theresa (Robin Wright Penn) together after she finds a message in a bottle.

It’s the meeting of two (very) beautiful strangers when Katie (Julianne Hough) shows up in Alex’s (Josh Duhamel) small beach town.

A gorgeous beach house sets the stage for Erica (Diane Keaton) and Harry’s (Jack Nicholson) complicated, up-and-down love story.

Living an ocean apart makes their relationship difficult, but it’s love at first sight for Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones).

In one of the most iconic movie kisses ever, Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster set the standard for the steamy beach-set make-out.

The Goonies kick off the adventure of a lifetime when they journey along the beach and run into pirates.

When Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) heads to the beach with Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and his popular friends, she feels more than a little awkward.

Turns out the beach is the perfect place to pretend someone’s alive – sunglasses can help to distract.

In a story of budding Olympians, there’s something inspiring about watching Harold (Ben Cross) and Eric (Ian Charleson) run along the water with the men of the University of Cambridge.

Between “wax on, wax off” moves, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) channels his best Mr. Miyagi-inspired Zen pose at the water’s edge.

Walter (John Goodman) and the Dude (Jeff Bridges) take a moment to honor their friend Donny by scattering his ashes along the water.

Lucy (Drew Barrymore) may not remember all the cute dates Henry (Adam Sandler) plans, but they still end up with a beautiful life on the water.

A young Melanie (Dakota Fanning) and Jake (Thomas Curtis) discover that lightning on sand can create glass. Later, they meet at the same spot, and an older Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) asks Jake (Josh Lucas) why he’s still married to her. His romantic, cheesy response? “So I can kiss you anytime I want.”

As the movie title suggests, at the heart of CC (Bette Midler) and Hillary’s (Barbara Hershey) friendship is the beach. (Cue “Wind Beneath My Wings” to trigger the tears.)

Before there was Sleepless in Seattle, there was Joe Versus the Volcano. After being diagnosed with an incurable disease, Joe (Tom Hanks) heads to an island hoping to make the most of his life, and on the way, he meets Patricia (Meg Ryan).

Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) takes Gloria (Isla Fisher) for what he thinks is a standard romp in the sand, until she confesses that she’s a virgin – oops.

Back from the army, Chad (Elvis Presley) celebrates his homecoming by hanging out at the beach and serenading the ladies.

They may be “just friends,” but things get steamy between Emmeline (Brooke Shields) and Richard (Christopher Atkins) when they’re stranded in the South Pacific.

It’s the pirate’s (beach) life for Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) keep close during their epic search for the deathly hallows.

In the Oscar-nominated romance, Tony (Emory Cohen) takes Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) to Coney Island so she can experience how Americans do the beach (i.e. a whole bunch of adorable splashing and smooching).

The latest iteration of this iconic pack of lifeguards includes Kelly Rohrbach, Alexandra Daddario, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, and Jon Bass.

Dunkirk doesn’t have the, um, most uplifting beach scenes, but the war film does offer a stark (and starkly beautiful) approach to the famed battle.

Blake Lively romps around on the beach pre-shark attack in this sunny shot from The Shallows.

2017’s Wonder Wheel features a ton of beach scenes in Coney Island, including a few with Justin Timberlake wearing old-timey bathing suits.

This raunchy 2017 comedy stars Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, and Zoe Kravitz as a group of friends on a bachelorette trip gone wrong. Fortunately they have ocean views!

Jason Clarke and Kate Mara star in this tense political drama as Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne, respectively.

Take it from us: Chesil Beach is NOT where you want to end up discussing your delicate new marriage.

Rooney Mara considers her future in this moody beach shot from Netflix’s The Discovery.