Study Reveals The Sexiest Films Of All Time

Fact: It’s not hard to find sex on the internet. But sometimes, when you want to watch something provocative that isn’t too adult, a sexy film can really hit the spot... 

Having already explored the Netflix shows that made us cry the most, we were interested to ascertain the sexiest film of all time using IMDB’s sexiest films of all-time list to create a shortlist. We asked 2,760 people to choose the five films they found sexiest from the list, and then collated those answers to find the 13 most popular films.

Finally, we collected data on each film using several different factors, such as:

• Average global Google search volumes for the films’ sex scenes
• Average global Google search volumes for the films’ kissing scenes
• Average global Google search volumes for the films’ nude scenes
• Inclusion of BDSM and group sex
• Film Classification Certificate (age rating)
• Number of sex scenes the film contains

From this, we were then able to assign each film a final score to create the ‘Watch Flicks and Chill’ Index.

Basic Instinct was crowned the sexiest film of all time, followed closely by Fifty Shades of Grey! You can see the final scores in the tables below:

Collected before the points system was introduced for each variable.

Basic Instinct: Coming top of the list is Basic Instinct with a score of 534 – and with 4,000 searches on Google for THAT Sharon Stone sex scene, it’s not hard to see why. Released in 1992, it’s clearly still widely thought of as one of the sexiest films of all time, containing a whopping six sex scenes that are sure to get viewers hot under the collar!

Fifty Shades of Grey: Following closely behind in second place with 491 points is of course the film that made BDSM (and Jamie Dornan) famous, Fifty Shades of Grey. With numerous scenes containing strong sex and nudity, along with the portrayal of erotic role play based on domination, submission and sadomasochistic practices, this film is most definitely not safe for work (NSFW). There are also strong verbal references to such practices and the instruments used. 

Blue is the Warmest Colour: Coming In third with 378 points, this 2013 hit contains eight-strong sex scenes – the highest amount on our list. The two female protagonists are often fully nude, plus if you look closely, you’ll get a glance of the male form in all its natural glory. Sex is also seen in a range of positions.

Eyes Wide Shut: In fourth place with 360 points we have 1999 blockbuster Eyes Wide Shut. Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, this film contains multiple sex scenes (7), nudity, and an orgy, to name a few!

Cruel Intentions: This 1999 remake has an all-star cast of beautiful people and a sexiness rating to match! With 356 points overall, girl-on-girl kissing and five sex scenes, this has well and truly earned fifth place.

Bound: Another one on the list centred around BDSM, Bound is about a wealthy woman who meets a younger man who introduces her to all things bondage. Its fetish scenes, an average of 500 searches each month for sex scenes, and ample nudity earnt this film 304 points and sixth place on our list.

American Beauty: In seventh place with 214 points, this classic film contains nudity, masturbation, and a lot of sex. With a certificate rating of 18, it’s no wonder it ranks highly on our sex scale!

Secretary: This 2002 release is all about an employee/boss relationship with benefits. With four sex scenes, it scored 184 points on our sexy scale, placing it firmly in eighth place. 

Friends with Benefits: One for the millennials, this was released in 2011 and stars two of the sexiest people on the planet – Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. The whole film is based on the premise of two friends having sex, so there are (obviously) a lot of sex scenes, with 1,200 average searches on YouTube, rendering this film ninth on our list with 171 points.

No Strings Attached: Next on our list is another film based on the premise of two friends having sex, but not being in a relationship. A guy (Ashton Kutcher) and girl (Natalie Portman) try to keep their relationship strictly physical, but it's not long before they learn that they want something more. This film got 141 points due to five sex scenes, resulting in 500 monthly Google searches on average globally!

Indecent Proposal: Another classic film, this one’s about a billionaire who offers one million dollars to a young married couple for one night with the wife. Obviously, it’s a sexy storyline, but with only one sex scene, it trails behind in 11th place with just 76 points.

Notes on a Scandal: With just 63 points, this film follows an art teacher having an affair with one of her students, as well as an older art teacher she befriends! The sex scenes aren’t often searched for though, with a meagre 200 global google searches a month on average, one of the reasons why this film ranked 12th on our list. 

Vicky Cristina Barcelona: In last place, this blockbuster stars two of the sexiest people alive, Penelope Cruz and Scarlet Johansson, which is probably why it made this list at all! Its lack of actual sex scenes and nudity have rendered it bottom of the list, scoring just 10 points.

1. We at OnBuy took IMDB’s sexiest films of all-time list and asked 2,760 people to choose the five films they found sexiest from the list. We then collated those answers to find the most popular 13 films.
2. Using Google search volume analytics tool Ahrefs, we sourced the global average search volume for the terms ‘film + sex scene’ (e.g. 50 Shades of Grey sex scene) ‘film + kiss’ (e.g. 50 Shades of Grey kiss) and ‘film + nude scene’ (e.g. 50 Shades of Grey nude scene). We did this for each film on the list. This was done for both searches on Google and YouTube.
3. Next, we collected data on whether the film included BDSM or group sex, the number of sex scenes it included and its classification certificate (age rating).
4. Finally, we used a points system called min-max normalisation to award points to each film based on data collected. 0 points is given for the lowest piece of data on the scale, 1 for the highest. This was then multiplied by 100 to give final points. So, the higher the search volumes for a film, the more points it got. The more sex scenes the film included, the more points it got. Etc…
5. This enabled us to rank the films in order of sexiness, based on their total points.