Nudity has long been a staple for Hollywood’s ability to sell movies. Not every movie features nudity, but it's not hard to see movie executives use it as a tool to lure audiences and pump up box office numbers. How, exactly, does Hollywood monetize nudity? So, let’s look at how nudity has been utilized to sell movies.

1. Appealing to Sensationalism

Throwing nudity into a situation usually adds a little bit of shock value. It gets attention and makes you wonder. During a season of thousands of movies hungry for attention, a salacious act of nudity can be a bold way to split the crowd. Truly, this is especially true for marketing campaigns, where trailers or posters with some partial nudity will pull people in that otherwise would not be interested.
Example: Sexual themes and nudity have proved to be powerful enough for soft core to make it to the silver screen and hit the big screen as major box office hits, such as Basic Instinct and 50 Shades of Grey. Even though the story wasn’t anything too revolutionary, the promise of risqué content got people there.
2. Targeting a Specific Audience

Nudity is a tried and true method for Hollywood to attract viewers that are looking for a more adult experience, because Hollywood knows how to target specific groups. Often the R rated films that often have nudity in them are for older audiences. That differentiates between families movies and adult movies.
Case in point, movies with explicit scenes will draw people wanting mature content. With an understanding that pushing overly adult themes into a movie can draw huge crowds hungry for such things, even if the overall movie itself is not particularly good, studios know this is the way to go.
Related : What Are Some Hollywood Actress Oops Movements?
3. Adding to the ‘Forbidden’ Appeal
There’s something about nudity that feels amphibious, as if it were forbidden. Nudity in film is tapping into people’s naturally curious nature about closing doors, taking you into the unknown. Allurement is made more likely when a film elicits nudity, a buzz doubles quickly.
Nudity can be so taboo it generates conversation, pushes social media buzz, and brings more eyes to theaters. It allows a movie to have a splashy way of grabbing people’s attention in a market that is crowded with movies.
4. Boosting Emotional Connection to the Story
There are times when nudity isn’t all about titillation; it’s used to tell the story. Nudity can be used in a director’s way to make an emotional connection with some characters. In these cases, the nudity doesn't detract from the story, in fact, it can be quite useful, just like the nudity in movies and TV shows to support feelings of vulnerability, trust and even love, these stories feel raw and real.
Films like Blue Is the Warmest Color or The Reader use nudity to explore deeper emotional themes. These scenes may not actually increase box office numbers, but if you can help people connect with the characters, on some level, they might recommend the film to more people.
5. Building Star Power
The roles of films have nudity, many actors and actresses become famous. Taking on such roles is part of a career strategy for some. Sometimes these films get a little more media attention, which only helps boost an actor’s profile. Then it uses this star power to drive more people to the theaters.
Let’s take for example such actresses like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct or Jason Momoa in Frontier, who became famous thanks to their roles in the movies with nudity. Their presence in these films can somehow attract the crowd that is willing to watch them perform.
6. Creating Buzz with Controversy
Deliberate nudity also sometimes starts fights. It knows that controversy sells tickets, and that’s a lesson Hollywood has learned. Releasing films that are beyond decency sometimes engenders a public debate. That buzz can be just enough to elevate a movie from moderate to miraculous at the box office.
For example, take The Wolf of Wall Street. The times were scandalous, scenes were pasted in the film which included nudity. The buzz surrounding these scenes, however, finally helped bring in a wider audience and so guaranteed that the movie was a classic box office success.
7. Using Nudity as a Marketing Tool
Nudity doesn’t stay onscreen; it’s usually part of the marketing push. But for instance movie posters, trailers and social media promotions might use nudity to bring people into the scenes. As long as the content is more eye catching for Hollywood’s bottom line, it is.
For many people, if they see a little bit of nudity that’s in the trailer or the poster of the movie, they are likely to want to see that movie. It is just that simple of a marketing technique that can do so much to help at the box office.
8. Catering to Global Audiences
Sexual traits have certain level of acceptance in every culture. Many movies produced in Hollywood contain elements of nudity because nudity is well received in many countries. Very often the extra income from overseas theaters can be really impressive.
Example: Prominence in some European nations of nudity in popular culture means that Hollywood will ‘meet’ these audiences by offering more nudity scenes. This diversifies the audience with the film and puts the films chances of earning revenue internationally at a much higher level.
Conclusion
Of particular interest is that most directors and producers in Hollywood incorporate nudity mainly for its ability to draw public attention and therefore ensure higher ticket sales. Jamming, choosing a certain demographic, and using nudity as an advertisement tool help filmmakers bring success to a certain movie. From the addition of known stars, generating controversy to merely linking an emotional trigger, Hollywood cannot do without nudity as a major marketing tool.
Nudity has long been a staple for Hollywood’s ability to sell movies. Not every movie features nudity, but it's not hard to see movie executives use it as a tool to lure audiences and pump up box office numbers. How, exactly, does Hollywood monetize nudity? So, let’s look at how nudity has been utilized to sell movies.
1. Appealing to Sensationalism
Throwing nudity into a situation usually adds a little bit of shock value. It gets attention and makes you wonder. During a season of thousands of movies hungry for attention, a salacious act of nudity can be a bold way to split the crowd. Truly, this is especially true for marketing campaigns, where trailers or posters with some partial nudity will pull people in that otherwise would not be interested.
Example: Sexual themes and nudity have proved to be powerful enough for soft core to make it to the silver screen and hit the big screen as major box office hits, such as Basic Instinct and 50 Shades of Grey. Even though the story wasn’t anything too revolutionary, the promise of risqué content got people there.
2. Targeting a Specific Audience
Nudity is a tried and true method for Hollywood to attract viewers that are looking for a more adult experience, because Hollywood knows how to target specific groups. Often the R rated films that often have nudity in them are for older audiences. That differentiates between families movies and adult movies.
Case in point, movies with explicit scenes will draw people wanting mature content. With an understanding that pushing overly adult themes into a movie can draw huge crowds hungry for such things, even if the overall movie itself is not particularly good, studios know this is the way to go.
Related : What Are Some Hollywood Actress Oops Movements?
3. Adding to the ‘Forbidden’ Appeal
There’s something about nudity that feels amphibious, as if it were forbidden. Nudity in film is tapping into people’s naturally curious nature about closing doors, taking you into the unknown. Allurement is made more likely when a film elicits nudity, a buzz doubles quickly.
Nudity can be so taboo it generates conversation, pushes social media buzz, and brings more eyes to theaters. It allows a movie to have a splashy way of grabbing people’s attention in a market that is crowded with movies.
4. Boosting Emotional Connection to the Story
There are times when nudity isn’t all about titillation; it’s used to tell the story. Nudity can be used in a director’s way to make an emotional connection with some characters. In these cases, the nudity doesn't detract from the story, in fact, it can be quite useful, just like the nudity in movies and TV shows to support feelings of vulnerability, trust and even love, these stories feel raw and real.
Films like Blue Is the Warmest Color or The Reader use nudity to explore deeper emotional themes. These scenes may not actually increase box office numbers, but if you can help people connect with the characters, on some level, they might recommend the film to more people.
5. Building Star Power
The roles of films have nudity, many actors and actresses become famous. Taking on such roles is part of a career strategy for some. Sometimes these films get a little more media attention, which only helps boost an actor’s profile. Then it uses this star power to drive more people to the theaters.
Let’s take for example such actresses like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct or Jason Momoa in Frontier, who became famous thanks to their roles in the movies with nudity. Their presence in these films can somehow attract the crowd that is willing to watch them perform.
Related : Which actress has the best figure in Hollywood?
6. Creating Buzz with Controversy
Deliberate nudity also sometimes starts fights. It knows that controversy sells tickets, and that’s a lesson Hollywood has learned. Releasing films that are beyond decency sometimes engenders a public debate. That buzz can be just enough to elevate a movie from moderate to miraculous at the box office.
For example, take The Wolf of Wall Street. The times were scandalous, scenes were pasted in the film which included nudity. The buzz surrounding these scenes, however, finally helped bring in a wider audience and so guaranteed that the movie was a classic box office success.
7. Using Nudity as a Marketing Tool
Nudity doesn’t stay onscreen; it’s usually part of the marketing push. But for instance movie posters, trailers and social media promotions might use nudity to bring people into the scenes. As long as the content is more eye catching for Hollywood’s bottom line, it is.
For many people, if they see a little bit of nudity that’s in the trailer or the poster of the movie, they are likely to want to see that movie. It is just that simple of a marketing technique that can do so much to help at the box office.
8. Catering to Global Audiences
Sexual traits have certain level of acceptance in every culture. Many movies produced in Hollywood contain elements of nudity because nudity is well received in many countries. Very often the extra income from overseas theaters can be really impressive.
Example: Prominence in some European nations of nudity in popular culture means that Hollywood will ‘meet’ these audiences by offering more nudity scenes. This diversifies the audience with the film and puts the films chances of earning revenue internationally at a much higher level.
Conclusion
Of particular interest is that most directors and producers in Hollywood incorporate nudity mainly for its ability to draw public attention and therefore ensure higher ticket sales. Jamming, choosing a certain demographic, and using nudity as an advertisement tool help filmmakers bring success to a certain movie. From the addition of known stars, generating controversy to merely linking an emotional trigger, Hollywood cannot do without nudity as a major marketing tool.