Even when the sex isn’t explicit (which it still often isn’t), fantasy and lust are front and centre. Luca Guadagnino’s tennis thriller Challengers takes something as straightforward as two men eating churros and makes it so erotically charged, even the most chaste of viewers end up perched on the edge of their seat.
Whether it’s used to navigate grief, as in All of Us Strangers, or as a method of sabotage, as in Saltburn, Hollywood has re-embraced the idea that sex on screen is not simply about arousal– it’s a core element of the human experience, which can be complicated, enlightening, even destabilising.
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The increased use of intimacy co-ordinators on-set, those who ensure actors feel comfortable and are being treated fairly while still making the scene sizzle, has also changed the way sex is portrayed. Elle McAlpine assisted with the erotic scenes in Poor Things, including one in which a father brings his two sons to a brothel to learn about sex. McAlpine ensured the boys were not in the room while the simulated sex was being filmed, and briefed their parents on the intricacies of the scene beforehand. It might sound simple, but the regular use of intimacy co-ordinators is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Is sex on screen what audiences want? A 2023 UCLA study found that Gen Z wants to see less sex in movies, with 44 per cent saying they felt romance was “overused”. That could be hangover from their formative years overlapping with the least sexy period in modern Hollywood.
The box office tells a different story. Poor Things grossed over $167 million globally, while Challengers made over $140 million. Meanwhile, Saltburn, Hit Man and The Idea of You became immediate streaming hits.
The best kind of cinema should make you feel something – fear, joy, ecstasy. But while one joke may not make everyone laugh, steamy hotel sex between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine is far more likely to get everyone’s blood pumping. After a decade of superheroes, perhaps we’re craving something a little more naughty.
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