David Attenborough delivers his greatest message of hope in our spectacular new film, Ocean with David Attenborough.
The powerful documentary film from Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios is set for release as a global cinema event from 8 May (2025), which also coincides with David Attenborough’s 99th birthday. The film will be available globally on National Geographic, Disney+ and Hulu later this year.
Ocean with David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. In the film the celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing.
Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never-before-seen, from destructive fishing techniques to mass coral reef bleaching. Yet the story is one of optimism, with Attenborough pointing to inspirational stories from around the world to deliver his greatest message: the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.
Ocean with David Attenborough will invite audiences worldwide to come together to experience Attenborough’s untold story of the ocean on the big screen. Altitude will release the film in the UK & Ireland and have partnered with Piece of Magic Entertainment to release the film in the rest of the world, including in Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and South Africa. Additional countries are still to be announced. Visit Altitude.film/Ocean for more.
The film’s release is timed ahead of World Ocean Day, June’s United Nations Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice, France, and midway through the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). As world leaders decide the fate of our ocean, Ocean with David Attenborough will show why ocean recovery is vital for stabilising our climate and securing a healthier future for us all, and how marine protection – if immediately implemented – can help to turn the tide.
David Attenborough said,
“My lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Over the last hundred years, scientists and explorers have revealed remarkable new species, epic migrations and dazzling, complex ecosystems beyond anything I could have imagined as a young man. In this film, we share some of those wonderful discoveries, uncover why our ocean is in such poor health, and, perhaps most importantly, show how it can be restored to health. This could be the moment of change. Nearly every country on Earth has just agreed, on paper, to achieve this bare minimum and protect a third of the ocean. Together, we now face the challenge of making it happen.”
The film is Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios co-production – directed by Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield and produced by Nowlan.
Executive producers include Louise Pedersen and Rachel Job for All3Media International, Tom McDonald and Janet Han Vissering for National Geographic, Jasper Smith and Arksen and 10% for the Ocean, Minderoo Pictures, Enric Sala for National Geographic Society and Pristine Seas, Kristin Rechberger for Dynamic Planet, Rolly van Rappard and Francoise van Rappard for Don Quixote Foundation, and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco for The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.