Movie 'Chastity' Sells Better Than Sex

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." (Read more sex stories.)