Rated: The Worst Movie Sex Scenes of 2024 (And The Best Ones Too)

Sex on screen gave us plenty of reason to blush, clutch our pearls, and, above all, be turned on in 2024—and that’s even in spite of reports that there is less sex on screen now than there has been for decades.

We’re thankful, then, for Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Zendaya, and all the horny filmmakers who kept things steamy in film and on TV this past year. The finest sex scenes of the year are daring and bold—and, of course, incredibly hot. And the worst ones—you know we had to round up those, too—still show we’ve got a long way to go when it comes to exploring a diverse array of sexual experiences on screen, though progress is definitely being made.

Without further ado, here are the very best—and worst—sex scenes of the year.

THE WORST

The Idea of You – Well, that was quick…

All credit to Anne Hathaway, who delivers a passionate and believable performance in The Idea of You, a film allegedly inspired by Harry Styles fan fiction. But not even Hathaway can convince you that the film’s pivotal sex scene, between her Solène and the much younger boy band superstar Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) is remotely erotic. Hayes barely touches Solène, and yet Solène acts like she’s having the greatest orgasm of her life. It’s like a checklist of everything bad about movie sex scenes: loud moans over nothing happening, flurries of closeups, and a ridiculously quick conclusion.

A Family Affair – So close, and yet…

This is more of a disastrous omission than a truly bad sex scene: For a movie all about a steamy forbidden relationship between an older woman (Nicole Kidman) and a younger male movie star (Zac Efron), it’s outrageous that A Family Affair lacks any proper sex scene. There is one scene that comes close—Kidman and Efron are in bed and begin to undress before the camera cuts away and it’s all just one big tease. The movie has “affair” in the title! It should be illegal to waste the chemistry between Kidman and Efron like this.

Rumours – J--kin’ it

Leave it to the unpredictable minds of Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson to conceive a scene in Rumours where the leaders of the G7 come face to face with a group of zombie-esque people masturbating. It’s designed as political satire—something the film largely does successfully—but a group of bog people j---ing off is simultaneously too absurd and too on the nose to really be more than just a goofy distraction.

The Boys – The sex dungeon

Neither the worst nor best, but easily the most controversial, The Boys Episode 6 features a prolonged scene set in a sex dungeon. This is a show that is always gleefully inviting controversy, and this moment is no exception, as Tek Knight (Derek Wilson) unleashes madness, including urine, cake sitting, and gimp suits on Hughie (Jack Quaid), who he thinks is someone else—but a costume obscures his identity. It’s shocking, depraved, funny, and deeply disturbing.

THE BEST

Babygirl – The hotel

A sex scene lasting over 10 minutes? In this economy? In the dazzling and daring Babygirl, Romy (Nicole Kidman) and Samuel (Harris Dickinson) figure out the limits of their forbidden relationship in a seedy hotel room. The pair explore the dynamics of their dominant-submissive relationship, including but not limited to Romy getting on all fours and eating food out of Samuel’s hand. Anchored by bravura brilliance and shocking vulnerability from Kidman, Halina Reijn’s film is one of the most striking movies of 2024. It’s nothing short of thrilling to see kink and sexual dynamics explored so honestly, so earnestly, and so powerfully.

All We Imagine As Light – Love in the woods

Tenderness is key in this gorgeous, breathtaking moment between Anu (Divya Prabha) and Shiaz (Hirdhu Haroon). After exploring the caves near an Indian village, the pair finally find a private place where they can sleep together in the woods. Many sex scenes focus on lust, but Payal Kapadia’s sumptuous All We Imagine As Light explores intimacy as Anua and Shiaz explore each other’s bodies and make love, rendered in stunning, evocative close-ups courtesy of Kapadia.

It’s What’s Inside – Body-swapped passion

In the twisted thriller It’s What’s Inside, a round of body-swapping leads to an erotic tryst between two couples in the bodies of other people. It’s hot, but the scene also has a lot to say about how we project ourselves online, how we covet and long for the lives of other people, forgetting the value in our own lived experiences.

Queer – The oral sex scene

Daniel Craig is fantastic in Queer as Lee, a man trawling Mexico City determined to find love. Eugene (Drew Starkey), another ex-pat catches his eye, and the two head back to Lee’s for unforgettable oral sex. Luca Guadagnino’s film is an explosive story of queer longing and desire, and its passionate b---job scene is as hot as Lee is desperate to stop the self-loathing that is consuming him and find someone to truly love him.

Viet and Nam – Down in the mines

Two men have a passionate sexual relationship down in the mines in the spellbinding Vietnamese arthouse film Viet and Nam. Surrounded by complete darkness and the overwhelming silence of the vast space, the scene is hauntingly lit, explicit, and erotic as they make love in the abyss. After a festival run, the film will hopefully get a theatrical release in 2025, and you won’t want to miss this spellbinding love story that’s been banned in Vietnam.

Rivals – The sex montage

TV’s horniest show, about rivaling television executives in England, is a non-stop parade of sexual desires. And it’s backed up with plenty of fornication, like a fantastic montage at the end of Episode 1, a cavalcade of sex scenes—everyone doing it with everyone in every which way. It’s one of those rare series that delivers on its promise of relentless lust.

Challengers – The (almost) three-way

The perpetually horny Challengers is an intense, sweaty d----swinging contest between tennis rivals Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist), who are both trying to woo Tashi (Zendaya). After a drunken evening exchanging erotically-charged stories, the three wind up coming this close to a threesome. It’s incredibly hot as the boys get swept away in each other, sloppily making out and jousting with their tongues as Tashi watches with a devious glint in her eyes. It’s a scene so steamy it’s among the best of the year, even though there’s no actual sex in it.