Reef had its world premiere as a market screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2010. It was later shown at South Korea's Pusan Film Festival on 10 October 2010 and Spain's Sitges Film Festival. The film's Australian premiere was in late 2010 at both the Brisbane and Canberra film festivals. The film received a wide Australian release by Pinnacle in March 2011. Director Traucki said that "The biggest release we can hope for is 30 screens, which is what you get for Australian films, unless you make something like Australia." The film was released straight-to-DVD in the United Kingdom in January 2011. Critical response The film received positive reviews from critics, achieving an approval rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10 with its consensus state: "A gripping example of less-is-more horror, The Reef is the rare shark attack movie that isn't content to merely tread water". Critics praised the use of actual shark footage, as opposed to special effects, in the film, as well as the directing and acting. Crikey described The Reef as "an unnerving winner: tense, twitchy and frighteningly entertaining." Numerous horror review sites gave the film a thumbs up comparing it with Jaws and Open Water. Stuart Wahlin said "The Reef is a good nail-biter I’m happy to recommend, especially to those who share my craving for stories of sharks with a taste for human flesh." Film Horreur says "The Reef turns out to be a good little friendly film that was able to demonstrate a good dose of realism and efficiency without ever falling into the razzle-l'oeil or easy upmanship." The UK Film Review Site HeyUGuys.co.uk said "If you’re a lover of being scared and are looking for the next shark movie that will shake you up since Deep Blue Sea, then this is the one for you!" Sequel In November 2020, it was announced that a sequel was in development. Andrew Traucki will return as director, with a script of his own. The Reef: Stalked, a standalone sequel, follows a plot centered around Annie who goes on a kayaking and diving adventure with some friends following the murder of her sister. The group's vacation quickly becomes a fight for survival, when a large great white shark begins to follow and attack them. Production was scheduled to commence principal photography in Australia in late-2020, while