Danish public broadcaster DR reports that sex scenes are returning to film and television, and that directors are now using them to reveal something about their characters.
In an article published on September 20, 2026, DR describes a wave of new films and series that put sex back on screen. Berlingske film editor Sarah Iben Almbjerg tells the broadcaster that the scenes now carry meaning instead of filling time.
Almbjerg says she used to treat sex scenes as a coffee break, because they felt routine and disruptive. According to her, directors often seemed to include them simply to undress two attractive actors. She finds it far more interesting when sex reveals something about the characters themselves.
One example is the erotic thriller ‘I Want Your Sex’, released this year. Director Gregg Araki has called it a sex-positive love letter to Generation Z, according to kino.dk. Araki made the film after reading that young people have less sex than earlier generations.
Almbjerg points to ‘Babygirl’ and ‘The Idea of You’, both from 2024, as part of the same movement. In those films, the older woman enters a forbidden relationship with a younger man. She says the stories are told on the women’s terms.
Consent as a new film language
Almbjerg also names the Danish MeToo film ‘Vores løfte’ from this year. Its opening sex scene establishes the couple as equals, she explains. That matters later, because the husband is declared an abuser and his wife stands by him.
BBC described the same trend in an article on August 4, 2026, writing that films are getting horny again. The broadcaster named ‘The Invite’, which opened in Danish cinemas in August, as another example.
The shift follows a long period of restraint in Hollywood. A Playboy count from 2019 found the 2010s had the lowest depiction of sex in film since the 1960s. Almbjerg describes that decade as puritan.
Per Almbjerg, the MeToo movement left Hollywood unsure how to handle the subject, and intimacy coordinators were added to most productions. She says the industry had to learn a new language around consent, boundaries and abuse. She names ‘Past Lives’ as a film that handles consent well, with a look and a nod before a kiss.
More sex in times of crisis
Almbjerg gives a second explanation for the return of sex to the screen. She says Hollywood produces more sex during times of crisis, and that the pattern also holds in Denmark. The Danish ‘sengekantsfilm’ comedies appeared in the late 1970s during an economic downturn.
DR published the article as part of its theme ‘Porno uden grænser’. The broadcaster is examining what it does to Danish sexuality and views on sex that pornography is more accessible than ever. The theme includes a documentary series available on DR.
