New York, Dec 31 (ANI): For filmmakers, who tend to cash in on sexy scenes, a new study shows audiences prefer modesty.

According to CNN, analysis of more than 900 films released between 2001 and 2005 showed that sex and nudity did not led to big box office return, or extra media attention.

“Sex did not sell, whether in the domestic or international box office,” the New York Daily News quoted Dean Keith Simonton, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, as saying.

“Even among R movies, less graphic sex is better,” he added.

The study showed that top-grossing films included “Shrek 2;” “Spider-Man;” “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” all of which contained just minor to mild sex and/or nudity.

Craig Detweiler, director of the Centre for Entertainment, Media and Culture at Pepperdine University, said the study’s findings reflect the culture’s post-sexual revolution sensibilities.

“Nothing is as shocking anymore,” he said.

“You can see it in Britney Spears’ kiss with Madonna and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl performance. Things that were a big controversy among some, the next generation kind of yawned at,” he added.

The study’s authors believe that their findings have some direct impact on moviemaking.

“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 co-author, Anemone Cerridwen.

“I know that Hollywood has been trying to make more family-friendly films for a while (since the ’90s) and it seems to be helping ticket sales, so my guess is that this research would complement that,” she added. (ANI)