There’s a divide among today’s movie watchers; for some, a sex scene can ruin, or at least cheapen, an otherwise great movie. But for others — those who are correct, I daresay — sex scenes are as necessary as any other element of realistic storytelling because sex is a part of life. That’s not to say that every movie should contain a sex scene, of course. But when it makes sense, it makes sense. The viewing experience of an otherwise terrible movie can, in fact, be rescued by a really great sex scene or two. Passion, tension, chemistry — what’s more watchable? Below, 44 of the best sex scenes from movies.
1. Atonement (2007)
Maybe this sex scene is so hot because you can tell there’s impending danger, or maybe a sex scene involving green silk and being slammed up against a bookcase is simply an intrinsically hot concept.
2. Dirty Dancing (1987)
This kind of foreplay is enough to make anyone wish they could dance.
3. Black Swan (2010)
This supercharged scene is undeniably hot. The chemistry here is electric, and both characters clearly have a can’t-get-enough-of-each-other attitude.
4. The Notebook (2004)
The characters waited years for this moment, and based on the passion in this (deleted) scene, it shows.
5. Queen & Slim (2019)
A movie that makes car sex actually look enjoyable is a well-done movie. This scene comes after tons of buildup, making it even hotter.
6. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
The raw desire in this scene is off the charts. The characters have extremely, uh, vocal sex all over the house. After tons of tension, the lust here definitely hits.
7. Anna Karenina (2012)
This dreamlike sequence is pure eroticism. The scene flashes back and forth from the buildup between the characters to the actual sex scene, making it even sexier and more intimate.
8. Blue Valentine (2010)
While the depicted relationship turns out to be pretty tumultuous [spoiler], this scene is anything but. Singing along to “their song” and staring at his partner like she hung the moon makes for an extremely tender moment.
9. Seven Pounds (2008)
This scene definitely lays on the drama, but it works — it might be the sweetest scene on the list. The passion between these two characters is palpable, and they both go slow, taking their time with each other. Bonus points for silk sheets.
10. Marie Antoinette (2006)
While this was before Jamie Dornan took up the role of Christian Grey, these sex scenes are much better. There’s always something sexy about a forbidden affair, and the sneaking-around aspect is thrilling.
11. Titanic (1997)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet quite literally invented steamy sex. The foggy windows are the perfect canvas for the streaky handprint, a clear indicator of enjoyment.
12. Revolutionary Road (2008)
Over ten years later, Leo and Kate are back — this time on a kitchen counter. Anyone who has ever fantasized about doing it in the kitchen, this one’s for you.
13. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
While this is more of a lead-up than a sex scene, it’s hot because it feels real. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have great onscreen chemistry, and their banter shows it.
14. Someone Great (2019)
Maybe it’s just because of Lakeith Stanfield’s hotness and charm, but there’s something undeniably sexy and playful about this scene. The neon lighting; the fact that “Saturdays,” by Twin Shadow, is playing; the obvious enjoyment from both sides — perfect.
15. Pretty Woman (1990)
The fact that there’s no kissing makes this scene even better. Bonus points for the piano.
16. Ghost (1990)
In reality, this would probably be really messy and not arousing at all, but on a screen, it plays out perfectly.
17. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)
Yes, it’s Twilight, but it’s also bed-breaking sex.
18. Top Gun (1986)
Looking back now, this scene is kind of cheesy. Still!
19. Fifty Shades Darker (2017)
Another scene for anyone who fantasizes about public sex. Plus, unlike so many Fifty Shades scenes, you can tell this one is all about her.
20. Monster’s Ball (2002)
This is entirely about Billy Bob Thornton’s character going down on Halle Berry’s character. Yes.
21. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Brokeback Mountain walked so that Call Me by Your Name could run. There is so much obvious longing between the two characters, and this scene is a thrilling culmination of that.
22. Friends With Benefits (2011)
Mila Kunis’s and Justin Timberlake’s characters explicitly tell each other what they need to get off, which is something everyone can take notes from.
23. The Mountain Between Us (2017)
Kate Winslet and Idris Elba are an incredibly sexy pairing. The speed with which they’re taking each other’s clothes off, the way he grabs her neck to kiss her, the way it looks like they can’t get enough of each other … that’s cinema.
24. Across the Universe (2007)
An ethereal, underwater scene for all Beatles lovers.
25. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
This scene feels strangely voyeuristic, particularly because Nicole Kidman is watching herself in a mirror.
26. Disobedience (2017)
Best known as the scene where one actress spits in the other’s mouth, this sequence is also an intense emotional climax to a slow-burning tale of forbidden love.
27. Passages (2023)
This movie is horny pretty much all the way through, and there are several great sex scenes to choose from. But there’s something about the playfulness that devolves into aggression and the way the characters are really taking their feelings out on each other that makes it the hottest scene in the film.
28. Weekend (2011)
This entire movie is one long sex scene. Okay, no it’s not, but it starts with a very hot one-night stand that turns into a very intimate, very horny, very sweet weekend full of a certain air of possibility.
29. God’s Own Country (2017)
This entry in the “hot men in rural place fall in love” genre includes several instances of great sex, but the best is this moment, which goes from viciously horny to tenderly sexy.
30. Y tu mamá también (2001)
The hottest threesome to ever grace the silver screen? Quite possibly.
31. Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
The movie? Incredibly dark. The sex scene? Incredibly hot. It works.
32. The Hunger (1983)
First of all, Susan Sarandon playing a hot scientist. Second of all, Catherine Deneuve playing a hot vampire. While he’s not in this scene, David Bowie is also there and also hot. The sex that follows this clip is artfully shot and incredibly erotic.
33. Poor Things (2023)
If you’ve seen this movie, you might feel weird about its inclusion on this list, and that’s fair! But the quality of the sex scenes is undeniable. While the romps shared by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo’s characters have their own seductive power, the best sex scene is actually the scene between Stone and Suzy Bemba, who plays Bella Baxter’s socialist sex-worker bestie and lover. It’s brief, but it’s intimate and non performative and very hot.
34. Outlaw King (2018)
Unfortunately, due to the plot, Chris Pine’s and Florence Pugh’s characters spend most of this movie separated from one another. But when they’re together, it’s intimate, passionate, and extremely hot.
35. Killing Me Softly (2002)
This movie is actually terrible — badly written, badly directed, badly acted. But it’s basically one long sex scene, and the sex is pretty excellent. Joseph Fiennes is at his hottest, even though his character might be a murderer (spoiler: It turns out his sister is the real murderer, in a ridiculous plot twist that critics absolutely hated). The sex is supposed to be extremely kinky, and it’s … not, but it is very hot and passionate. A great movie to have on in the background, if you know what I mean.
36. Challengers (2024)
Some people were incorrectly disappointed by the lack of an actual threesome, or of any sex at all, in this seminal film. As Zendaya’s character Tashi Duncan asserts, tennis is a relationship. So while, yes, the scene where Tashi makes her boys (Art and Patrick, played by Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, respectively) kiss is hot — and so are all the ones where she’s about to have sex with one of the boys individually, and so especially are the ones where the boys are visibly flirting — the actual hottest sex scene in this entire movie is the tennis match that concludes it. If you disagree, sorry, you’re wrong. Go watch it again.
37. The Idea of You (2024)
This might be the most successful Wattpad movie yet, and it’s all thanks to great performances and intense sexiness from Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, who are both absolutely smoldering here.
38. Elisa & Marcela (2019)
If you’re into slow, sensual sex scenes and have a kink for seaside props, this film is for you. Filmed in black-and-white, it riffs on the true story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, who became the first recorded same-sex couple in Spain when they married in 1901, disguised as a heterosexual couple.
39. Revenge (1990)
Revenge may not be a particularly memorable Kevin Costner film, but it does contain one of his most memorable sex scenes. It’s unapologetically horny, like something out of an erotic-fiction story — they start dry humping in an open-air Jeep — which might be because the movie itself is based on a pulp novella published in Esquire in the ’70s. This one is for the true smut lovers.
40. A Family Affair (2024)
This sex scene is notable for many reasons, none of which include raw sexual energy or any variation of it. First, it’s a fun pairing: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, back together 12 years after they first starred together in The Paperboy. It’s not that they don’t have chemistry; they’re clearly comfortable with one another. It’s just that they’re using that comfort for comedic effect more than anything else — before seducing her, Efron’s character correctly identifies the Shiseido sunscreen that Kidman’s character is wearing. It’s all very silly and made even sillier when Joey King, who plays Kidman’s daughter and Efron’s assistant, walks in on them.
41. Babygirl (2024)
In 2024, we were blessed with not one, but two Nicole Kidman age-gap romance movies. In this one, she’s a CEO who enters into an affair with her underling, a hot young intern played by Harris Dickinson — except in their sexual dynamic, he has all the control. There are plenty of excellent sex scenes to choose from in this film, but the most visceral, dynamic one may just be the opening scene. In it, Kidman’s character, Romy, fakes an orgasm with her husband. As soon as he leaves, she jumps out of bed, grabs her laptop, and masturbates on the floor.
42. Queer (2024)
While the film’s overall effect is less than satisfying, it does contain a few incredibly hot moments — not to mention a career-best performance from Daniel Craig. When his character, William Lee, gets a moment alone with lover-of-sorts Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), we get something that I, at least, have never before seen in cinema: an over-the-boxers blowjob, followed by a too-short but powerfully erotic hand job. The only complaint you’ll have: Why was that so fast?
43. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Starring Emma Thompson as a recently widowed, retired teacher and Daryl McCormack as a sex worker she hires, this takes place almost entirely in the same hotel room, over the course of a single day. It’s a vehicle for two excellent performances, and its movie-length will-they, won’t-they tension is enticing. I can’t describe the final sex scene to you without spoiling the plot, but know that it’s extremely worth watching.
44. Nosferatu (2024)
Almost immediately upon its release, Nosferatu was hailed for its celebration of horniness — and for its unique exploration of intimacy both physical and metaphysical. There are several sexual moments in the movie, but the one that might be the least off-putting involves Lily-Rose Depp’s character, Ellen Hutter, teasing her husband, Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), until he explodes in a fit of rage and passion.
Additional reporting by Jordan Larson and Katja Vujić.