When "Chloe," a drama of sexual obsession and jealousy, was released in theaters last weekend, it landed with a whisper, not a bang.
GIven what's on the internet these days, moviegoers just aren't in the market for that anymore.
Since the mid-'90s, the popularity of erotic thrillers and steamy films like "Chloe" has waned dramatically. Gone are the days when audiences would flock to see Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke cavort in soft porn like "9 1/2 Weeks," or crane their necks as Sharon Stone opened her legs in "Basic Instinct."
Not even the presence of current "it girl" Amanda Seyfried could keep "Chloe" from debuting to a mere $900,000 in just 350 theaters.
More recently, films like "Original Sin," "The Black Dahlia," "Deception," and "Perfect Stranger" featured big stars such as Angelina Jolie and Hugh Jackman, but failed to make much of a profit. Not even "The Brown Bunny"s' promise of unsimulated oral sex with Chloe Sevigny could stimulate audiences. That 2003 drama made headlines with its sexual content, but only grossed $366,301.
(See Slideshow, Duds in the Bedroom: Erotic Movies that Bombed)
"[Chloe] is a niche film, but back in their day movies like 'Fatal Attraction' were up there with the biggest of summer blockbusters," Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations told TheWrap. 
While "Fatal Attraction" made $320 million worldwide in 1987, "Basic Instinct" raked in $352 million in 1992, and "Indecent Proposal" grossed $266 million in 1993, the ensuing decade was not kind to the erotic genre.
Starting with the 1995 bomb "Showgirls," which grossed $20.5 million on a $45 million budget, the list of turkeys has been awe inspiring. For every modest performer like "Obsessed" or "Unfaithful," there have been ten movies like "Jade," the 1995 stinker that grossed less than $10 million and killed David Caruso's nascent movie career.
Though crowds lined up to see Sharon Stone's nether regions in "Basic Instinct" more than 15 years ago, these days they prefer that stars keep their legs tightly crossed.
Even Stone's return to the role that made her famous in 2006's "Basic Instinct 2" was met with a paltry $38.6 million at the box office and multiple Razzie awards.
"Sex isn't as special," Dean Keith Simonton, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis and the author of a recent study arguing that sexually explicit films do worse at the box office. "People are more likely drawn to the theater to see something like 'Avatar' that's in 3D and is a unique experience."
Part of the issue is that the rise of internet porn means that movies are no longer the dominant medium for sexual provocation. There's no need to pay the price of the ticket when graphic sex and nudity is a few clicks of the mouse away.
"The prevalence of porn on the web has meant that people looking for titillation can readily find it online," Craig Detweiler, director of the Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture at Pepperdine University, told TheWrap.
