Sex and nudity in movies have failed to generate ticket sales in Hollywood,
says a report.
The report titled "Sex Doesn`t Sell --
Nor Impress!" is authored by Dean Keith Simonton and Anemone Cerridwen. The authors, who examined more than 900 films released between 2001 and 2005, indicated that virtually all the top-grossing films that came out during that period had little or no sex or nudity, reports a website.
"Sex did not sell, whether in the domestic or international box office, and even after controlling for MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) rating," said Simonton, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis.
Added Cerridwen, "In other words, even among R (rated) movies, less graphic sex is better."
Cerridwen also said that the study evolved from a personal experience while she was taking an acting class and became concerned about the sexual content of the scripts she was viewing.
"I assumed sex sold and wanted to know by how much. I braced myself for the worst, and got quite the surprise."
She is also hoping that the study will influence Hollywood producers.
"I do believe that there are a fair number of people in the film industry who want to make better films, and this study may give them some ammunition," said Cerridwen.
