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Movie 'Chastity' Sells Better Than Sex

Viewers prefer innuendo to full nudity

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 30, 2009 4:40 AM CST

(Newser) – Filmmakers looking to score a box-office hit should follow the lead of Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and Spider-Man: keep the love scenes chaste. So claims a new study of more than 900 films released between 2001 and 2005, which shows that, contrary to popular belief, nudity and explicit sex scenes don't boost a movie's bottom line.

"Sex did not sell, whether in the domestic or international box office," one of the study's authors tells CNN. Experts variously chalked up the findings to a "post-sexual revolution" culture in which nothing shocks viewers; a young generation that rebels by "not doing drugs, not sleeping around and not getting divorced," and many viewers' greater enjoyment of a "hint of sex" than "out-and-out nudity."

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are shown in a scene from The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are shown in a scene from "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."   (AP Photo/Summit Entertainment, Kimberley French)
Robert Pattinson portrays Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart portrays Bella Swan in a hot but unconsummated scene from The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Robert Pattinson portrays Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart portrays Bella Swan in a hot but unconsummated scene from "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."   (AP Photo/Summit Entertainment, Kimberley French)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
Phantom09
Jan 12, 2010 3:17 AM CST
Interesting, I've never thought about that. Though, I have to admit I've gotten to the point where I see sex in movies as way overused and do not condone to the plot... except for the original Terminator... I see previews for a sexually explicit movie and just roll my eyes while mumbling, "Oh joy, another shallow movie to gross several million with no plot line, dumb scripts, and sex every ten minutes."
sidewinder
Jan 4, 2010 7:26 AM CST
God, I hope you're not talking about the Twilight crap...there was no "movie" to watch, just an effeminate vampire covered in stripper glitter.
RogerMohajir
Dec 30, 2009 12:49 PM CST
You've hit on the flaw in this "study." By definition, movies with unchaste sex scenes are R-rated, therefore limiting their audience. The much less sexy headline here is: "R movies make less money than PG-13," something that everyone in Hollywood has known for years. To quote Mark Twain (or Benjamin Disraeli, depending on your source): "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."
 

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