Sex!
Now that I have your attention, let’s get to the matter at hand: Breaking down the most talked-about sex scenes at the movies this year—the good and the bad.
It was a major year for gay sex scenes in particular (that includes, obviously, the buzzy hockey series Heated Rivalry, which isn’t included here because it’s not a film). Interestingly, the worst sex scenes of 2025 that made this list are by a lack thereof, with some films seeming to be thematically all about sex and then pulling punches at the last minute and not actually showing us the deed. Stop teasing us, movies!
So without further ado, here are the best—and worst—sex scenes of 2025.
BEST
Plainclothes
One of the best (and most underrated) films of the year has an all-time great sex scene. After a series of clandestine meetings, Lucas (Tom Blyth) and Andrew (Russell Tovey) finally hook up in the back of Andrew’s van. The sex is passionate, and the screen drips with desire—yet it’s cross-cut with Lucas having a full-blown panic at his family’s house that he’s going to be found out for being a homosexual. Set in the ’90s when police would regularly entrap gay men trying to have sex, the moment highlights that even in gay men’s most euphoric moments, repression rears its ugly head. It’s messy, gorgeous, haunting, and unforgettable.
Twinless
Twinless has a quick but fantastic sex scene that also functions as one of the year’s most shocking twists (one I won’t spoil here). Here’s what you need to know: It’s a warm, incredibly sensual scene featuring great chemistry between its stars and a devastating undercurrent. Actors Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney (who also wrote and directed Twinless) perform it beautifully. The scene—which leaked online when Twinless premiered at Sundance in January—deserves so much more than being known as something that whipped up inadvertent controversy.
The Naked Gun
The goofiest, most outlandish sex scene of the year exists in The Naked Gun. One-upping the original, an extended montage finds Frank (Liam Neeson) and Beth (Pamela Anderson) enjoying a wintery getaway, which, naturally, leads to a spicy threesome with a snowman they brought to life with a magical incantation. Sex doesn’t need to be sexy! It can be goofy, awkward, and extremely funny.
Die My Love
Lynne Ramsay’s film isn’t an easy watch, but it’s a worthy one. At the beginning of the movie, Grace (a never-better Jennifer Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson) engage in a fast, furious, and carnal expression of love. It’s a scene that feels more and more important as the film goes on and Grace and Jackson’s relationship falls apart—their sex is a reminder of the sense of freedom that once fuelled their passion for each other.
On Swift Horses
Set amongst the restrictive landscape of 1950s America, Julius (Jacob Elordi) finds unexpected love in the arms of Henry (Diego Calva), whom he meets working security at a Las Vegas casino. Their love cannot exist in the open, but behind closed doors, their sexual relationship is loaded with desire. Audiences see intimate moments between Julius and Henry—which also makes excellent use of mirrors. The motel the couple shares together is one of cinema’s most scintillating spaces in 2025.
The Visitor
Easy winner of the most sex award, Bruce LaBruce’s The Visitor is a nonstop barrage of unsimulated sex. It’s impossible to pick just one scene to highlight, as there’s more sex than dialogue in this movie. The Visitor is chock-full of throbbing techno and throbbing…well, you know. Trangressive, obscene, and gleefully provocative, you’ve never seen anything like The Visitor.
WORST
The Housemaid
What happened here? Paul Feig’s movie oozes with sexual longing and desire between the titular housemaid Millie and married father Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). When they finally get it on at a hotel after a dreamy evening away, it should be explosive. And yet, it’s as if these two people would rather do anything besides touch each other. And there’s horribly cheesy music blaring over it. It feels like Hallmark executives hijacked The Housemaid during its sex scene. For a movie this horny, it’s astonishing the sex is this tepid.
Ella McCay
It’s a brief, horrifying moment. Immediately after sex (which happens off-screen), both Ella (Emma Mackey) and her husband Ryan (Jack Lowell) exclaim their post-coital bliss with one word: “Gosh!” I refuse to accept that anyone would ever shout “gosh” after sex—an utterly unhinged moment in a movie absolutely full of them. If there were an actual sex scene in Ella McCay, it’d probably be the worst thing we’ve ever witnessed.
F1
So much of Joseph Kosinski’s F1 movie involves the will-they-wont-they romance between racer Sonny (Brad Pitt) and technical director Kate (Kerry Condon). So when they finally hook up in a fancy Las Vegas hotel, you’d expect the lovemaking to mirror the fireworks in the backdrop. Instead, all we get is a kiss and a cut to Kate and Sonny in bed the next morning. Of all the sex scenes that should have happened in 2025, this one is probably the most egregious. There’s as much sexual tension as there is racing, yet only one of those things is delivered in F1.
Wicked: For Good
Admittedly, the moment (and song) of seduction between Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is suitably epic. But I cannot let the inexplicable sex cardigan donned by Elphaba slide. It’s the chunkiest, ugliest gray cardigan you’ll ever see, and its presence, particularly when next to a shirtless, glistening Bailey, renders a great moment laughable.
The Threesome
A movie all about a three-way, Chad Hartigan’s The Threesome doesn’t actually feature a second of sex on screen. The titular moment begins with a kiss and cuts before anything of interest happens. This should be triable in court.
