New stats show that there’s less sex than ever before in films

Less than half of all films now contain sex and nudity

(AP)

A new study has found that the amount of sex scenes in top Hollywood films has sharply declined.

The research from film data analyst Stephen Follows focused on the 250 highest-grossing films in America since 2000 and ranked them on a scale of “none” to “severe” when it came to the prevalence of sex and nudity.

It revealed that since the year 2000, the amount of sex and nudity in films has decreased by almost 40 per cent.

However, in the findings published inThe Economist, it was noted that the sex scenes that are included tend to be more graphic than what was previously featured.

A prime example cited was Saltburn, which famously featured oral sex while a woman was menstruating and its protagonist, Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), attempting to have sex with a grave.

One of the reasons cited for the decline in sex and nudity on the big screen is the rise of intimacy coordinators, who work to protect the welfare of actors on set and ensure that they are comfortable filming sexual content.

Ita O’Brien, a leading coordinator, told The Economist that, while it is still possible for productions to ethically film explicit sex scenes, it must be done “in service of the character and storytelling”.

2023’s Saltburn featured some eye-popping sex scenes (Prime Video)

O’Brien revealed that it is her job to make suggestions about the appropriateness of sexual content and sometimes entire scenes are cut on the advice of intimacy coordinators.

Another possible explanation for the drop in sex and nudity is the dawn of easily accessible pornography on the internet, which has reduced the potential need for directors to titillate viewers in this way.

This could be reflected in Saltburn too, as while the content was shocking for some viewers, the only full-frontal nudity came at the very end of the film when Keoghan danced around the Saltburn manor naked.

The study not only found that the amount of sex and nudity dropped in top films, but it also discovered that there has been a sharp increase in the number of films that feature no sex and nudity at all.

In the year 2000, less than 20 per cent of all films had no sex or nudity, but this number increased to just under 50 per cent in 2023.

Romantic films saw the smallest decline in the amount of sex and nudity they contained.

Romantic films saw the smallest decline in sex and nudity (Alamy)

However, when it came to other types of content that could increase the age rating of a film – described as vices in this study – there was one category that slightly increased: violence.