Sex and erotica don't draw moviegoers anymore

Movie stars are no longer attracting moviegoers to theatres with steamy scenes, as film studios pour cold water on the idea that sex sells. But as the number of nude bodies appears to be dropping on cinema screens, TV producers are picking up the slack and titillating viewers in an effort to keep them on plot.

A recent market report commissioned by Warner Bros identified that it is females who make the most decisions about which film to see on a night out and, while they’re swayed by handsome male actors, they find gratuitous sex scenes that don’t fit the plot a major turn-off, News.com.au reported.

And it seems in recent years, Hollywood has been heeding that trend.

In 2012, out of the top 20 grossing films, only four have included any sex scenes: one of which was the comedy Ted - and its intimate scenes were anything but erotic.

The report identified one of the last big steamy moments to heat up cinema screens and score big box-office figures was the intimate in-car moment between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in 1997’s ‘Titanic’.

These days, an actor - in the form of Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ - can pick up an Oscar for playing a sex addict without shedding her clothes or engaging in more than a kiss.