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We’re still cooling down for these incredible movie sex scenes that sent our temperatures soaring in the best way possible.
We all have our own definition of what makes a movie sexy. Maybe you’re into something smutty and erotic from start to finish, maybe you want something with a slow build and an intense climax, or maybe you’re a fan of films that take the definition of sex to something outside of the confines of traditional coitus.
No matter what, though, most of us can agree that sex scenes are sometimes necessary to show passion, tension, and human desire.
Over the years, some Hollywood hits have really gotten it right. There are older hits, like Eyes Wide Shut, with sex scenes that still hold up. We have modern takes, like another of Nicole Kidman’s sexiest film’sBabygirl, which prioritizes the female gaze, and God’s Own Country, which celebrates gay sex. Some films aren’t afraid to bear it all, and others where no nudity is required to get us all hot and bothered.
A good movie sex scene is hot, steamy, and timeless — and can even inspire your own sex life. So, take a look at the films that made our list and see if you agree that we are all going to need to take a cold shower and back away from the pheromones.
The Best Movie Sex Scenes of All Time
‘Love’ (2015)
Gaspar Noé’s Love has some of the most graphic sex scenes in film history and it originally released in 3D. The actors really had sex on camera, no simulations. The film follows an American living in Paris (Karl Glusman) who is reflecting on his sexual relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Electra (Aomi Muyock), and their neighbor, Omi (Klara Kristin).
Hottest sex scene: The initial threesome between the lead characters is filled with carnal attraction and sets the scene for the rest of the film.
Buy it now
‘The Dreamers’ (2003)
American exchange student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) gets entangled in an incestuous love triangle with French twins Théo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green).
Hottest sex scene: The first of many sex scenes in this film sees Théo standing over his sister and her lover as they passionately have sex on the kitchen floor.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video
‘Basic Instinct’ (1992)
The seductive affair between homicide detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and the woman he’s investigating for murder (Sharon Stone) made Basic Instinct one of the sexiest movies of the 90s.
Hottest sex scene: While Stone’s underwear-free leg crossing scene will go down in history, the moment Nick goes down on Stone’s character, Catherine, gets us every time.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video
‘X’ (2022)
A group of actors are left fighting for their lives after the elderly couple hosting them at their farm catch them trying to shoot a pornographic film.
Hottest sex scene: Mia Goth’s character puts on a hot performance with Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) in the hay of a barn.
‘Babygirl’ (2024)
Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller was one of 2024’s horniest movies and does a lot while showing, honestly, very little.
High-powered CEO, Romy (Nicole Kidman), learns to relinquish control in a sub-dom affair with intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson).
Hottest sex scene: Romy and Samuel have sex in her family’s pool as their torrid affair begins to unravel her life.
‘God’s Own Country’ (2017)
This film was largely overshadowed by Call Me By Your Name the year it was released but it’s never too late to circle back on it. Josh O’Connor plays an unhappy farmer who drowns his sorrows in a fling with a Romanian migrant worker (Alec Secareanu).
Hottest sex scene: The boys take filthy sex to the extreme when they explore each other’s bodies while covered in dirt and animal excrement.
‘Poor Things’ (2023)
Emma Stone plays a woman who was brought back to life by a scientist before going on a journey of self-discovery with Mark Ruffalo’s character.
Hottest sex scene: Stone and Ruffalo have rough sex aboard a ship en route to Europe.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ (2005)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is so steamy that even Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt couldn’t help but fall in love on set.
Married couple John and Jane Smith have been keeping a secret from one another: they’re both assassins working for rival agencies. When the truth comes to the surface, they get hired to kill each other.
Hottest sex scene: After trying to kill one another in a debris-filled shootout, these two hash it out in the bedroom… and on the floor, up against a wall, and more.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
‘Titanic’ (1997)
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s history-making love story needs no explanation.
Hottest sex scene: Jack and Rose have passionate sex inside a car aboard the ship and the steamed-up windows will go down in history.
‘Revolutionary Road’ (2008)
10 years later, Winslet and DiCaprio reunited for a more twisted but equally steamy drama. They play a couple struggling whose move to the suburbs pushes them to rebel against the increasingly mundane conventions of their lives.
Hottest sex scene: When the couple gets to work on the kitchen counter, they give Jack and Rose a run for their money.
‘The Handmaiden’ (2016)
Park Chan-Wook’s psychological thriller is a masterclass in building sexual tension. An orphaned petty criminal (Kim Tae-ri) and a con man (Ha Jung-woo) team up to seduce and fraud a Japanese woman (Kim Min-hee) out of her inheritance.
Hottest sex scene: About 40 minutes into the film, the two women crawl into bed to simulate what Hideko (Min-hee) will have to do to please her future husband.
‘Blue Velvet’ (1986)
Kyle MacLachlan and Isabella Rossellini give us plenty to enjoy in David Lynch’s neo-noir mystery thriller. When college student Jeffrey (MacLachlan) returns home to his mundane town to care for his ailing father, he becomes entrenched in a mystery after finding a severed ear in a field and wants love interest Sandy (Laura Dern) to help him solve it.
However, believing that a local woman, Dorothy Vallens, may be involved, he gets drawn into the mysterious lounge singer’s sex-filled world.
Hottest sex scene: Jeffrey’s voyeuristic treatment of Dorothy gets rewarded when the duo finally have sex in her apartment in an aggressive, dream-like encounter.
‘Deep Water’ (2022)
Just like Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas’ relationship, their film, Deep Water, was a bust, but it delivers on the passion front. The psychological thriller follows a husband who turns a blind eye to his wife’s affairs until he becomes the suspect in the disappearance of one of her lovers.
Hottest sex scene: An early scene in the movie has de Armas lounging naked in bed after a party. Affleck sensually rubs lotion into her soft skin… lots of foreplay in the moment.
Watch it on Hulu
‘Carol’ (2015)
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett smolder on screen while keeping things classy. Mara plays aspiring photographer Therese who makes the elegant Carol (Blanchett) her muse. The two women become fast friends but soon develop a love with complicated consequences.
Hottest sex scene: A lengthy 3 minute scene in which the women undress in front of each other before engaging in oral sex.
‘Black Swan’ (2010)
Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman star as rival dancers in an intense ballet company whose competition becomes a friendship and then an obsession.
Hottest sex scene: In a scene that blurs the lines between reality and imagination, the women pirouette each other into bed in this sexy thriller.
‘Unfaithful’ (2002)
In this erotic thriller, Connie (Diane Lane) is hiding an affair with her lover (Olivier Martinez) when her tormented husband (Richard Gere) uncovers details that send him into a frenzy.
Hottest sex scene: Lane and Martinez do it standing up, making us think laying down is overrated.
Watch it on Amazon
‘Fatal Affair’ (2020)
Nia Long plays a woman trying to mend her marriage after a brief fling with an old flame (Omar Epps) but soon discovers that her ex-lover is more dangerous than she could have known.
Hottest sex scene: The public restroom hookup makes the Unfaithful sex scene look tame.
‘Top Gun’ (1986)
By today’s standards, Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis’ sex scene in Top Gun is not overly graphic, but we still love it. With a love story, elite fighter pilot Maverick’s cocky attitude and plenty of great action scenes, this film has it all.
Hottest sex scene: Maverick and Charlie have a passionate makeout before they get to thrusting in this slow-motion, silhouetted scene.
‘Blue Valentine’ (2010)
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams tragic love story is played out from start to finish in this romantic drama.
Hottest sex scene: After their secret shotgun courthouse wedding, Gosling and Williams’ characters consummate their marriage by him going down on her.
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ (2015)
There are seven total sex scenes in the first of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. When Ana (Dakota Johnson) meet high powered CEO, Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), she is immediately drawn in by his enigmatic personality and his dark sexual fantasies.
Hottest sex scene: When Ana visits Christian’s Red Room for the second time, she is tied up and blindfolded… oh, there is also a flogger involved.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video
‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005)
Jake Gyllenhaal broke our hearts with the line, “I wish I knew how to quit you” in this queer cowboy love story that sees him fall in love with Heath Ledger.
Hottest sex scene: Ennis (Ledger) and Jack’s (Gyllenhaal) first sex scene in a dark tent gets us every time.
‘9 1/2 Weeks’ (1986)
Wall Street trader John (Mickey Rourke) and art gallery assistant Elizabeth (Kim Basinger) begin a kinky, sexually-charged relationship that forces them to confront what they want in love.
All the sex scenes in the film qualify as addictive, sexually provacative, and mind-blowing. You will never look at the food in your fridge the same way again.
Hottest sex scene: In the rain… on a stairwell… in an alley…
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video
‘Troy’ (2004)
Brad Pitt makes the list again with his Greek warrior prowess in Troy. There is plenty of nudity in this film that retells the epic battle of Troy.
Hottest sex scene: Achielles (Pitt) and Briseis (Rose Byrne) get it on in the extended cut of this film.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video
‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999)
Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 erotic psychological drama is filled with sex scenes between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who were married at the time of filming.
Hottest sex scene: When Kidman’s character watches herself in the mirror during one of many sex scenes with Cruise’s character.
Watch it on Apple TV+
‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ (2021)
Andra Day plays jazz singer Billie Holiday in this biopic about the sting operation launched against her by The Federal Bureau of Narcotics because of her songs about human rights.
Trevante Rhodes stars as Agent Jimmy Fletcher who is tasked with incriminating Billie.
Hottest sex scene: In a moment of true love-making, unlikely lovers Jimmy and Billie have a tender and passionate night.
‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ (2001)
A woman with a secret goes on a road trip with two super sexy young men. Sounds like a dream vacation.
Hottest sex scene: After reuniting in a bar and getting hammered together to reconcile from a spat, the trio try out a ménage à trois for the first time. Maribel Verdú’s character performs oral sex on Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video
‘Marie Antoinette’ (2006)
Kirsten Dunst and Jamie Dornan explore the sex lives of the French aristocracy in this erotic tale.
Hottest sex scene: After seeing many awkward scenes between Marie and her impotent husband Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), Marie’s steamy sex scene with Count Axel Fersen (Jamie Dornan) is so satisfying.
Watch on Tubi
‘Friends With Benefits’ (2011)
New York recruiter, Jamie (Mila Kunis), and the executive she recruits, Dylan (Justin Timberlake), bond over failed romances and decide to start a no-strings-attached sexual relationship.
Hottest sex scene: After a frank discussion about exactly what they need to get off, these two have the best sex of their lives.
‘Someone Great’ (2019)
LaKeith Stanfield and Gina Rodriguez’s tragic story about the downfall of a relationship and the friends that get you through it has some surprisingly steamy sex scenes.
Hottest sex scene: A neon-lit love scene that shows off the couple’s playful sexual chemistry.
‘Her’ (2013)
In the modern age, sex doesn’t have to require physical contact between two humans. Spike Jonze’s science-fiction romantic comedy-drama film sees Joaquin Phoenix falls for an AI machine voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
Hottest sex scene: Their first sexual encounter shows Johansson’s Samantha telling Phoenix’s Theodore graphic descriptions of exactly what would happen if they were really together.
‘Queen & Slim’ (2019)
Queen and Slim’s first date is derailed after an encounter with the police over a minor traffic violation escalates into Slim shooting a cop in self-defense. On the run, the pair becomes the talk of the nation, all while still trying to get to know each other.
Hottest sex scene: After tons of build-up, car sex has never looked hotter.
‘Fifty Shades Darker’ (2017)
In the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, Dornan and Johnson deliver on hotness yet again.
Hottest sex scene: After getting engaged, Ana and Christian do it in the shower and the Red Room with oil, blindfolds and handcuffs.
‘Fatal Attraction’ (1987)
Happily married lawyer Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) has his life flipped upside down by a casual fling with a sultry book editor, Alex (Glenn Close).
Hottest sex scene: Dan and Alex’s sex filled weekend is so hot in the moment, even though it has disastrous consequences later.
‘Secretary’ (2002)
Steven Shainberg’s 2002 romance centers on the sadomasochistic relationship between timid secretary Lee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her demanding boss (James Spader). Though some elements might not fly by today’s standards, this is overall a respectful exploration of kinks.
Hottest sex scene: After many others, a sex scene later in the film sees the pair come to an agreement on their romance and truly make love for the first time while retaining plenty of kinky elements from earlier scenes.
‘The Notebook’ (2004)
Before dating, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams reportedly hated each other on the set of their epic love story but it’s hard to tell in the many love scenes.
They play lovers who are separated by class and war in a heartwrenching tale.
Hottest sex scene: You’ll need to get your hands on a version with the deleted extended cut of Noah and Allie’s passionate sex after they finally reunite in the back half of the film.
‘Queer’ (2024)
Luca Guadagnino’s tender drama follows a lonely American in Mexico, Lee (Daniel Craig), as he falls for an elusive former soldier (Drew Starkey).
Hottest sex scene: An over-the-boxers blowjob and a very erotic hand job that we only wish lasted longer.
‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001)
Lynch delivers again in Mulholland Drive. Rita (Laura Elena Harring) is left with no memory of her identity after a car crash and meets aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts) while wandering the streets of LA. The pair attempts to figure out who Rita really is.
Hottest sex scene: In one of the film’s rare tender moments, Rita and Betty strip down entirely and make love for the first time.
‘Love & Basketball’ (2000)
Childhood friends Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) are bonded by their dream to become professional basketball players and begin to fall in love. But as their dreams take off, their careers pull them apart.
Hottest sex scene: While Monica and Quincy’s first time is entirely PG-13, it’s what every woman dreams of her first time being, and we have director Gina Prince-Bythewood to thank for that.
‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ (2022)
Retired widow Nancy (Emma Thompson) hires sex worker Leo (Daryl McCormack) in the hopes of making up for a life of unfulfilling sex.
Hottest sex scene: The film is one long build up to a sensual and fulfilling sex scene, so if you’re only here for the sex, skip to the end.
‘Atonement’ (2007)
In this sweeping World War II drama, young lovers Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) are torn apart by a lie constructed by Cecilia’s jealous younger sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan) that derails Robbie’s life.
Hottest sex scene: If you recognize this green dress, you know exactly what we’re talking about. Robbie and Cecilia give in to their desires up against a bookcase.
‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (2023)
When the first son of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), and young Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) fall in love, they must do everything to keep it a secret.
Hottest sex scene: Praised for its accurate portrayal of gay sex, Alex and Henry’s first time having sex is hot in its awkwardness and tenderness.
‘The Hunger’ (1983)
This twisted tale has it all. David Bowie is having a hot and heavy romance with gorgeous vampire Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) who then sets her sights on sexy scientist Sarah (Susan Sarandon). What more could you want?
Hottest sex scene: Miriam watches Sarah undressed before having sex in an artfully shot, slow-moving scene.
‘Weekend’ (2011)
This film is almost entirely one very long, very hot one-night stand starring Tom Cullen and Chris New.
Hottest sex scene: Almost all of it.
‘Passages’ (2023)
Tomas (Franz Rogowski) tears apart his marriage to husband Martin (Ben Whishaw) when he has an affair with a woman (Adele Exarchopoulos).
Hottest sex scene: Tomas returns to Martin and they have primal, almost angry sex. The scene features some incredible camera work that strips sex back to its simplest form.
‘Disobedience’ (2017)
Ronit is the estranged daughter of an Orthodox rabbi who returns home when he dies and reconnects with childhood friend Esti (Rachel McAdams), who is a lesbian trapped in a loveless heterosexual marriage within a conservative community.
Hottest sex scene: Ronit spits in Esti’s mouth in an intense sex scene that sees the women give into their wildest desires.
‘The Lighthouse’ (2019)
In Robert Eggers’ psychological thriller, Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe play lighthouse keepers trying to maintain their sanity while living on a remote island.
Hottest sex scene: Pattinson releases a lifetime of sexual desire on a mermaid whose genitalia is carefully based on the anatomy of real sea creatures.
‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019)
In the regressive Victorian era, painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and bride-to-be Héloise (Adele Haenel) make the most of their forbidden love while they can.
Hottest sex scene: Under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, Marianne and Héloise strip down and explore each other’s bodies with some incredible foreplay.
‘The Idea of You’
Single mom Solène (Anne Hathaway) falls for her daughter’s favorite singer, Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), in this fanfiction-inspired romance.
Hottest sex scene: These two have an intense, secret night in a hotel that leaves us wanting more.
‘Revenge’ (1990)
Jay Cochran (Kevin Costner) plays a retired U.S. Navy pilot who travels to Mexico to spend time with his friend but ends up engaging in a steamy affair with his pal’s wife Miryea (Madeleine Stowe).
Hottest sex scene: Cochran and Miryea dry hump and more while in a jeep.
‘The Departed’ (2006)
In The Departed, Leonardo DiCaprio goes undercover to infiltrate the Irish mob but an unlikely sex scene solidified DiCaprio’s heartthrob status.
Hottest sex scene: DiCaprio’s character has a passionate affair with a police psychiatrist, Madolyn Madden (Vera Farmiga) whom he is seeing for court-ordered therapy.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
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