Hollywood may be past its sexy movies heyday, when thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct ruled the box office, but it still turns out a smutty flick or two each year, and romance is certainly having a rebirth thanks to BookTok and its insatiable hunger for spice. And thankfully, those older movies aren’t going anywhere, and are more available than ever thanks to streaming. So next time you’re in the mood to get in the mood, if you know what we mean, all you have to do is queue up the right movie and pour yourself a glass of something grape-based.
Of course, you can always go the TV route, with shows like Outlander and Bridgerton delivering sexy scenes in almost every episode, but isn’t there something particularly satisfying (pun intended) about watching the two gorgeous leads go from strangers to enemies to lovers over the course of just two hours? You really get a lot more, ahem, bang for your buck.
Whether you want your shades gray or your dancing dirty, we have something we know you’ll love, so take a look at our favorite steamy, sensual, romantic, tragic, swoon-y, passionate and all-around sexy movies of all time, because where Hinge fails to deliver, fiction will always compensate.
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Babygirl (2024)
Finally, a movie about sex and power dynamics in which the woman is the one in a higher position. Nicole Kidman plays a CEO who puts everything on the line when she has a BDSM-heavy affair with her intern (Harris Dickinson). “I know we accomplished one thing, and that is that we made a really hot movie,” director Halina Reijn has said of the erotic thriller. “I don’t know about good, bad—that’s up to everybody—but I’m müddet of that.”
Stream on HBO Max
A Family Affair (2024)
In fact, Babygirl isn’t the only hot age-gap relationship movie that Nicole Kidman has starred in. In A Family Affair, she plays a widowed writer who starts hooking up with the younger actor (Zac Efron, looking better than ever) that her daughter works for.
Available to stream on Netflix
The Idea of You (2024)
No, we’re not done with the “older woman, younger man” sexy movie trope. This one stars Anne Hathaway as a divorceé who gets her groove back via the lead singer of her daughter’s favorite uzunluk band, played by Nicholas Galitzine. Hot.
Available to stream on Prime Video
All Of You (2024)
A bit melancholic, mühlet, but this near-future sci-fi romance about the what-ifs in life plays on the innate tension of the one that got away, and stars Brett Goldstein, a man so perfect there was a brief rumor that he may have been made of CGI pixels.
Watch on Apple TV
Challengers (2024)
Zendaya plays a young woman who loses her chance at becoming a major tennis star after an injury in this romantic drama from Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino. But let’s be real: We’re really here to watch the very enviable love triangle—that, SPOILER, never results in a threesome—between her and the two BFFs turned tennis rivals played by Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Available on Prime Video
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Hit Man (2023)
Hit Man is a fun dramedy about, well, a hitman made all the better by casting extremely hot people—that is, Glen Powell and Adria Arjona—as love interests.
Available to stream on Netflix
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
To the surprise of absolutely no one, erotic fiction makes great source material for movies with sex scenes. One of the best examples of this: Red, White & Royal Blue, a delightful and steamy romantic comedy, based on Casey McQuiston’s hit book, about an English prince falling for the son of the president of the United States.
Available to stream on Prime Video
Sanctuary (2023)
Some of the sexiest movie scenes don’t involve any sex at all (though this movie does have plenty of that). The hottest moments in this psychological thriller about a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and her client (Christopher Abbott) are when they’re verbally sparring over who’s really in control.
Available to stream on Hulu
Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023)
If we’re being honest, all you really need/want to see in Magic Mike’s Last Dance can be found in the very first scene between Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault. It’s one of Magic Mike’s best dances in the whole movie series, which is saying a lot.
Watch on HBO Max
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Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)
The novel, about an affair between a young married woman and her gameskeeper, was literally banned in several countries for being too sexy. So yeah, the sinema worth the watch. This version, which stars Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell, is certainly the sexiest movie based on a book you can find.
Available to stream on Netflix
Fire Island (2022)
Pride And Prejudice gets a gay makeover in this sweet çağdaş rom-com that takes male-on-male flirtation mainstream.
Watch on Hulu
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (2022)
A middle-aged divorcée embarks on a sexual awakening with a charming male escort but starts to have real feelings for the much-younger man in this charming if a bit predictable comedy.
Watch on Hulu
The Voyeurs (2021)
This erotic drama stars Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith as a young couple who become obsessed with spying on their (very sexy, very in need of window blinds) neighbors. One movie review described The Voyeurs as “indulgent horniness” and “primarily engineered for provocative rushes.” It was meant in a snarky way, but honestly? Sign me up.
Available to stream on Prime Video
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Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
A devastatingly beautiful historical romance about the brief but impactful affair between a French noblewoman (Adèle Haenel) and a painter (Noémie Merlant). Portrait of a Lady on Fire may be a sexy movie, but it’s also a work of arka.
Watch on HBO Max
MILF (2018)
This French comedy has the premise of an SNL sketch: Three women in their 40s go on vacation and hook up with younger guys. And that’s…it! Finally, the spin-off about Christine Baranski’s Mamma Mia character we deserve.
Available to watch on Netflix
Duck Butter (2018)
Mumblecore-romance alert! All your indie faves make appearances in this microcosmic love story about two women who decide to spend 24 hours together to see if they can’t find a shortcut to intimacy. Not a bad idea.
Available to watch on Netflix
Disobedience (2017)
This lesbian drama, set within the Orthodox Jewish community and based on a novel of the same name, earned high praise from critics, especially for the central performances from Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. It’s beautifully shot as well.
Available to watch on Netflix
Newness (2017)
Cheating, exes, threesomes, open relationships…people these days will try anything to avoid commitment, eh? Martin (Nicholas Hoult) and Gabriella (Laia Costa) cycle through it all, pausing often to have passionate sex.
Watch on Tubi
Moonlight (2016)
Barry Jenkins’s drama famously won best picture (not La La Land!) and remains one of the best movies about being young, Black, and gay ever made. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it will make you feel.
Available to watch on Netflix
The Handmaiden (2016)
This erotic thriller is best left unspoiled. All you need to know is that The Handmaiden’s plot twists are just as exciting as the stunning sex scenes.
Available to stream on Prime Video
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Whatever you think of the messaging or the filmmaking in this franchise, you can’t deny that Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson helped normalize conversations about BDSM and put it all on the line to bring Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele to life. They get up to every act under the sun, and even if it’s not graphic, it’s at least thorough. They do be banging.
Available to rent on Prime Video
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Magic Mike XXL (2015)
Our favorite stripper boys were back and better than ever in this follow-up to Magic Mike that follows the fellas on a road trip of sexy, shmexy fun. Some (that is, me) would argue that it’s even better than the original.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)
Controversial and romantic, this movie was reportedly a challenging shoot, but the result is undeniable: a forceful, gut-wrenching tale of love and lust between two women who are…how to put this…super French!
Available to rent on Prime Video
Magic Mike (2012)
The shirtless Avengers of making ladies happy, with Channing Tatum in the lead. Thank you, Steven Soderbergh, for making a dance movie that puts the male physique on display for once!
Available to rent on Prime Video
Black Swan (2010)
Madness and self-love fuel the competitive and sexual tension between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in this twisty, dark erotic thriller set in the ballet world.
Available to watch on Netflix
Dorian Gray (2009)
Looking for a side of spookiness with your sexiness? This adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s famous story is all Victorian sinfulness.
Available to watch on Netflix
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Were you obsessed with Tudor bodice rippers from an inappropriately young age or were you olağan? The furtive looks, the secret longing, the Church of England, the dubious accents, it’s all so ripe!
Watch on Pluto
Atonement (2007)
Tragic, horrifying, swoon-worthy. Everything in the fountain, and oh God, everything in the library. If you get turned on by the Hand Flex in Pride & Prejudice, you’ll simply combust watching Atonement.
Available to rent on Prime Video
The Painted Veil (2006)
The biggest lovers to enemies to lovers story no one talks about anymore, this tragic romance has everything: cholera, class war, peak Edward Norton, costumes, lush scenery. Get ready to cry but like, in a hot way.
Watch on Netflix
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Take the Lead (2006)
This tale of an inner-city dance instructor who combines ballroom and hip-hop had the misfortunate to premiere the same year as Step Up, which made 10 times as much and basically guaranteed that no one would remember Take the Lead. But it’s a solid and sexy little movie, perfect if you’re in the mood for a Banderas more than a Tatum. (And yes, Jenna Dewan is in both movies.)
Available to rent on Prime Video
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Oh, the yearning. Ah, the hand flex. If you get turned on by an immaculately framed sunrise or tension-heavy eye contact, this is the swoon-worthy romance for you.
Watch on HBO Max
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
The spy-versus-spy movie so hot we’ve been dealing with the fallout for 20 years. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s chemistry is undeniable: Everyone knew about their real-life affair long before they confirmed the relationship. It was all right there on the screen!
Available to stream on Netflix
Troy (2004)
Faithful to The Iliad? Not really the point here. Finally, a war movie about getting hot and bothered on and off the battlefield, one that goes so overboard in attempting to cover up the homoerotic undertones of the source material that it becomes downright heterocrazy.
Rent on Prime Video
The Girl Next Door (2004)
Billed as a brash teen-boy fantasy come to life, this surprisingly charming comedy is as sex positive as it could be for 2004! A porn star moves in next to a Birçok Guy…you can guess what happens from there.
Available to buy on Prime Video
Closer (2004)
Based on the award-winning play, this dead-serious drama about love triangles (quadrangles?) lives in the moral gray area as it follows characters who aren’t vicious so much as desperately human. Also, it is really, really hot.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Mulholland Drive (2001)
David Lynch’s twisty thriller gets a shout-out in Chappell Roan’s song “Naked in Manhattan”: “Oh, I’ve never done it, let’s make it cinematic / Like that one sex scene that’s in Mulholland Drive.” Need we sing more?
Available to rent on Prime Video
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Two best friends (Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna) embark on a road trip with an older woman (María Verdú). A lot of nudity and sexual fluidity ensues.
Available to rent on Prime Video
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Moulin Rouge! (2001)
God, was there any better sleepover movie pre-Netflix? Ewan McGregor is truly swoon-worthy singing his actual heart out to a radiant Nicole Kidman, but for my money, the hottest number is actually “Roxanne.” Yep, I said what I said.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Love and Basketball (2000)
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s breakout coming-of-age story follows two childhood best friends who do what best friends do: fall for each other!
Available to rent on Prime Video
Cruel Intentions (1999)
It’s a competitive contest for who has the most chemistry in this horny drama you loved as a teen: Ryan and Reese? Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair? No, it’s gotta be SMG and herself. Hotties.
Available to rent on Prime Video
The Mummy (1999)
Though 1999’s The Mummy is by any standard a pretty family-friendly sinema, it triggered a wave of sexual awakenings for a certain subset of a certain generation such that a few decades later it would come to be known as the ultimate “bi panic” movie because its two leads are just too hot. Are you attracted more to Brendan Fraser or Rachel Weisz? The answer is yes. Horniness and nostalgia aren’t always appropriate to put together, but there are no minors in this sinema, so go right ahead.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
One of our favorite mystery movies, then married couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star in this psychological thriller about a New York City doctor who becomes unmoored after learning his wife evvel considered being unfaithful. He then embarks on a night-long adventure that ultimately culminates at a mysterious orgy.
Available to stream on Prime Video
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs fall in love on the beach—need we say more about this feel-good movie?
Available to rent on Prime Video
Titanic (1997)
Draw! Me! Like! One! Of! Your! French! Girls! Considering this is a movie about the most famous sinking ship of all time, they didn’t have to go as hard as they did at making it sexy. But I’m glad they did.
Watch on Tubi
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
More swoon-y that sexy (they are teens, after all), this is still the movie that set all our adolescent hearts aflutter when we first caught sight of Leo through that iconic fish tank, proving evvel again that there’s a reason Shakespeare is Shakespeare.
Rent on Prime Video
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The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
This was porn for your mom, actually. Meryl Streep earned an Academy Award nom for her role as a housewife whose passionate side is unlocked by a visiting photographer (Clint Eastwood). Based on a novel of the same name, this movie was so popular it also inspired a short-lived Broadway musical.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Legends of the Fall (1994)
They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Windswept, rain-soaked and pining, brothers out West fighting in a war for…oh, who cares. It’s olden times and they’re all in love with Julia Ormond, because of course they are.
Watch on Prime Video
Basic Instinct (1992)
It kind of doesn’t get better than Paul Verhoeven and Michael Douglas making an erotic thriller. Though the much-discussed, and much-parodied “crotch shot” has gone on to eclipse the rest of the sinema in fame since 1992, make no mistake, the appeal here goes far beyond a peek between Sharon Stone’s legs. Basic Instinct is a genuinely twisty cat-and-mouse game about a detective (Douglas) investigating a novelist (Stone) whose work resembles the recent homicide of a rock star, and who just happens to have been dating the musician at the time of his death.
Available to stream on Netflix
Ghost (1990)
“Ghost…but just that one scene,” says Meredith Palmer while naming her desert-island movies on The Office. Meredith knows.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Pretty Woman (1990)
Garry Marshall’s fluffy Cinderella story about a businessman and the sex worker he makes over holds up surprisingly well, ultimately being an unlikely romance about two people from extremely different backgrounds who set aside their preconceptions to realize they just plain get along. Oh, and they’re both üstün hot and wanna bone a bunch.
Watch on Hulu
Do the Right Thing (1989)
The hottest day of the year in Brooklyn brings racial tensions to a head in Spike Lee’s masterpiece, but there are lighter moments along the way—and sexier moments, like Mookie cooling Tina with the ice cube.
Available to rent on Prime Video
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Pedro Almodóvar’s screwball comedy features a young and swelteringly hot Antonio Banderas and combines elements of rom-com and noir to create something truly unique (and one of the sexiest movies on this list).
Available to rent on Prime Video
Fatal Attraction (1987)
Before the stabbing and the bunny-boiling (spoiler? Sorry, this movie has been out for a while), the love, or uh, lust story here is pretty hot! Glenn Close goes from mistress to stalker in her pursuit of Michael Douglas in a story so classic it inspired a remake as a (sadly, not very good) TV show. It’s also got some iffy stuff about mental illness in there so, you know, watch for what you’re watching for and don’t think too hard about the rest, you know the drill.
Available to rent on Amazon
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Dirty Dancing (1987)
Patrick Swayze is the female gaze. Coming of age has never been rendered so tenderly as it was in the story of Baby, on vacation with her parents, stepping across the threshold into adulthood (and carrying a watermelon) and putting her body on the line to become Johnny’s dance partner.
Available to watch on Netflix
Flashdance (1983)
This movie about a young dancer who aspires to become a ballerina is basically soft-core porn, featuring a lot of tender boob touching and that very ’80s blue silhouette sex. Not that I’m complaining.
Available to rent on Prime Video
