20 Best Movies Like 365 Days

Summary

• Erotic movies like
  365 Days
  spark controversy but deliver on their promise of steamy romance, attracting a dedicated audience.
• Critically panned,
  365 Days
  still spawned sequels and satisfies viewers looking for similar steamy love scenes and complicated relationships.
• Movies like
  Fifty Shades of Gray
  and
  Basic Instinct
  offer similar problematic romances, while films like
  Y Tu Mamá También
  explore deeper themes alongside their steamy scenes.

Erotic movies like 365 Days make a big splash upon release, and the Netflix original joined a long list of films that gained attention because of their steamier content. The Polish romantic drama dropped on the streamer in 2020, and it follows Laura Biel (Anna-Maria Sieklucka), a young woman who is kidnapped by a Sicilian mafioso named Masimo (Michele Morrone) and given a year to fall in love with him. Immediately controversial for its plot, 365 Days gained loads of attention and delivered on its promise of steamy romance — albeit of a more problematic nature.

The film was summarily rejected by critics and even earned an elusive 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, movies like 365 Days are rarely popular with critics, and it managed to deliver everything that was promised. The first film proved popular enough to spawn several sequels, and every 365 Days movie was a steamy affair with plenty of sensuality, even if the overall quality hadn’t improved. And for those looking for films with similar steamy love scenes and complicated relationships, there are plenty of movies like 365 Days.

20 Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Stanley Kubrick’s Tale Of Secrets & Sex

While 365 Days received mostly poor reviews, despite its popularity among viewers, Eyes Wide Shut was made by one of the world’s greatest film directors and starred two major movie stars, helping its reception. With Kubrick teaming with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the film received mostly positive reviews when released and was one of Kubrick’s most provocative films. Cruise and Kidman were married at the time and starred in Eyes Wide Shut as a married couple who hit a rough spot in their relationship.

Eyes Wide Shut
is an erotic thriller about a fractured relationship and two people who are unsure of what they want out of life.

As a result, Bill heads out for a masked orgy at an unnamed secret society, only to get a very shocking surprise while he is there. Eyes Wide Shut is an erotic thriller about a fractured relationship and two people who are unsure of what they want out of life. It is very similar to something like 365 Days, but with the husband being the one who sets out to find a new thrill, only to have it almost ruin his life. Eyes Wide Shut was not as successful as other Kubrick films, but it did get a Golden Globes nomination for its score.

19 The Voyeurs (2021)

Two Lovers Seeking Forbidden Love

The Voyeurs is an erotic thriller released in 2021 and released on Amazon Prime Video. Much like 365 Days, this film is about a couple who are in a slightly awkward relationship sexually and one where they seek their pleasure through means that might not be widely accepted. The Voyeurs stars Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Justice Smith (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) as a young couple who move into their first apartment together, and make a huge discovery.

This thriller has several twists and turns and a morbidly dark ending.

The window from their apartment looks out at the window of an apartment across the street where a photographer lives. They then watch as the photographer has sex with a woman, and this creates the desire for them to keep watching the man have sex with various women. When they decide to warn the man’s wife he is cheating, tragedy strikes, and the young couple’s lives change forever. This thriller has several twists and turns and a morbidly dark ending fitting for fans of 365 Days.

18 Newness (2017)

Two Young Adults Exploring Boundaries

Newness is a 2017 romantic drama starring Nicholas Hoult as Martin, a divorced pharmacist who meets Gabi (Laia Casta) on a dating app and begins a relationship with her. Things move quickly, and Gabi moves in with Martin. However, since the two barely know each other, things don’t go well for them at first, with Gabi claiming Martin is hiding things from her and Martin believing that she is acting immaturely. However, they can’t stay apart and decide to have an open relationship.

That is where Newness offers its biggest conflict. As Martin and Gabriella try to navigate their relationship while also sleeping with others, things go poorly, causing drama and strife to enter both of their lives. The film was a festival favorite, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival before it was released on SVOD in 2017. It has a positive 71% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with credit going to the script and the likable leads.

17 Indecent Proposal (1993)

A Man Offers A Fortune To Sleep With Another Man’s Wife

Indecent Proposal is an interesting erotic thriller because it stars some really big-name actors in a film by the master of eroticism in the 90s, Adrian Lyne. The movie stars Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore as a married couple who invested all their money in David’s architectural project only to lose almost everything when the recession hits. They receive a lifeline in an “indecent proposal” by a billionaire named John Gage, played by the legendary Robert Redford.

John offers the couple $1 million if the couple agrees to allow him to spend the night with Diana. They refuse, but after discussing it, they realize that they could really use that money to get to where they want in life. However, such a decision puts a strain on their marriage that could destroy everything they had built, with drama that fans of 365 Days should enjoy. The film was a huge success, making $266 million at the box office, although it received mostly negative reviews from critics and won three Razzies.

16 Cruel Intentions (1999)

A Teen Sex Drama

Cruel Intentions is very similar to 365 Days because it is a film about people with a set idea of what sex and romantic relationships should look like that impose their will on others. Also, like 365 Days, there is a lot of deceit and deception involved in the story. Ryan Phillippe stars as Sebastian, a wealthy teenager who manipulates and sleeps with women on a large scale. He decides he wants to find a challenge and decides to seduce Annette (Reese Witherspoon), his headmaster’s daughter.

He then makes a bet with his stepsister Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) that if he can’t convince the virgin Annette to sleep with him, he has to give her his vintage Jaguar car. If he does seduce her, then Kathryn agrees to sleep with her stepbrother. As is evident, this is a very risqué and sexually explicit erotic thriller, and the manipulation and underhanded nature of the main characters makes it a great film to watch alongside 365 Days.

15 The Fifty Shades Trilogy (2015, 2017, & 2018)

Steamy Romance Based On The Novels By E.L. James

Though erotic romance films have been a staple of subversive cinema for decades, the international sensation that was the Fifty Shades trilogy brought it to the mainstream. Based on the novels by E.J. James, the Fifty Shades series concerns Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson), a literature student who begins a torrid romance with eccentric millionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). The books it was based on started out, ironically, as Twilight fan fiction and then turned into something much more sexual.

Like 365 Days, the Fifty Shades movies touch on a romantic relationship that isn’t exactly healthy, and the problematic way the series depicted BDSM drew ire, but its overwhelming success proved it was popular enough with audiences looking for the darker side of romance. None of the films received great reviews, but they all did well financially, with the second one, Fifty Shades Darker coming out in 2017 and the last, Fifty Shades Freed, coming out in 2018.

The
Fifty Shades
movies are available to stream on Max.

14 Betty Blue (1986)

A Romantic Thriller That Received An Oscar Nomination

Adapted for the screen by auteur director Jean-Jacques Beineix from author Philippe Djian’s novel, Betty Blue flipped the script from the typical erotic romance movies like 365 Days. In this French erotic drama, Betty (Béatrice Dalle) begins a sexual relationship with a handyman (Jean-Hugues Anglade). Her increasingly reckless and impulsive behavior complicates the relationship, while also creating a thrilling experience that eclipses their sexually aggressive relationship.

Scoring an Oscar and BAFTA nomination and earning praise for its gripping psychological thriller plot,
Betty Blue
didn’t skimp on the steamy romance either.

A pioneer of the cinéma du look movement of that time period, Beineix’s films gained a reputation for their emphasis on atmosphere and stylization, with Betty Blue being a prime example. Scoring an Oscar and BAFTA nomination and earning praise for its gripping psychological thriller plot, Betty Blue didn’t skimp on the steamy romance either. In 2000, Beineix released a 185-minute Director’s Cut showing Betty’s descent into madness, and both versions are available in the Criterion Collection edition.

13 Secretary (2002)

James Spader & Maggie Gyllenhaal Star In This Romantic Thriller

Though Secretary contained elements that are commonplace in many erotic romance movies, it was the film’s brilliant execution that set it apart. An emotionally troubled woman named Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) begins a sadomasochistic relationship with her demanding boss, E. Edward Grey (James Spader), setting the template for later films like Fifty Shades of Grey. Secretary is similar to 365 Days because of the romance derived from a seemingly dark situation.

Still containing plenty of scintillating and steamy scenes, the characters’ relationship journeys are much more wholesome, humorous, and satisfying than many other famous examples of the genre. Secretary is ranked among James Spader’s best movies, alongside Sex, Lies, and Videotape, which itself is another slightly erotic drama that received high critical praise. Maggie Gyllenhaal earned a Golden Globes and Independent Spirit Awards nomination for her performance in the movie.

The
Secretary
movies are available to stream on Prime Video.

12 The Twilight Saga (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, & 2012)

A Young Adult Supernatural Romance Series That Made $5.28 Billion

Though the steaminess was somewhat dialed down in The Twilight Saga, the complex romance of the series is very similar to that of 365 Days. Set in a small Pacific Northwest town, the series sees teenage Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) caught in a love triangle between vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Though the films weren’t critical darlings, The Twilight Saga added elements of the supernatural to the romance formula, which made for an intriguing story on its own.

The complicated love story is gripping enough to remain interesting throughout, even if the late aughts staple lacked the abundant sexuality of
365 Days
.

The complicated romance in Twilight’s love story is gripping enough to remain interesting throughout, even if the late aughts staple lacked the abundant sexuality of 365 Days. Interestingly, while the movie franchise was mostly a young adult fantasy romance series, it seemed to influence many movies and books that came later that added steamy scenes to the story. Notably, E.L. James started her Fifty Shades of Grey novel series as Twilight fan fiction before changing things up after a publishing houses took an interest.

The
Twilight
movies are available to stream on Hulu.

11 9 1/2 Weeks (1986)

Mickey Rourke Stars In This Romantic Thriller

One of the most famous erotic films ever made, 9 1/2 Weeks proved how successful the romance genre could be when taken to steamier places. Art gallery assistant Elizabeth McGraw (Kim Bassinger) begins dating Wall Street broker John Gray, (Mickey Rourke) but is troubled as their relationship goes to sexual extremes without any real emotional connection.

Often remembered as one of Mickey Rourke’s best films, the conventional story of risque boundary-pushing in a torrid affair is packed with the steamy style of director Adrian Lyne. Like 365 Days, the movie features plenty of sexual scenarios but goes deeper by using its erotic backdrop to deconstruct modern romance in the ’80s. There are also two versions of the film — the R-rated version released in theaters and the uncut, uncensored version MGM released when the movie hit DVD and home video.

10 Below Her Mouth (2016)

An Affair Forces Two People To Reevaluate Their Lives

The Canadian film Below Her Mouth is somewhat different from 365 Days because it deals with a torrid affair that is largely healthy. In it, Jasmine (Natalie Krill) is a successful fashion editor who begins an affair with a roofer named Dallas (Erika Linder) that forces them both to reevaluate their lives. The introduction of an LGBTQ+ relationship made Below Her Mouth immediately stand out and the dramatic writing largely overshadowed the erotic elements of the story.

While
Below Her Mouth
’s storyline was fast-moving and abrupt, the movie offered audiences an erotic thrill while also challenging their perceptions.

While Below Her Mouth’s storyline was fast-moving and abrupt, the movie offered audiences an erotic thrill while also challenging their perceptions. While critics dismissed the movie as using erotica to move the story without a decent plot, the movie offered something different in the realm of erotic films, thanks mostly to the two women falling desperately and madly in love, a passionate love story that forces both women to decide who they want to be and why they can’t live without each other.

9 Lie With Me (2005)

A Hidden Gem Among The Romantic Thrillers

Lie with Me was neither a critically acclaimed movie nor a popular one, but it’s an erotic gem for fans of movies like 365 Days. The story concerns Leila (Lauren Lee Smith) and David (Eric Balfour), a couple who have a deep sexual connection but lack effective communication skills to maintain a real relationship. Eschewing common romance movie tropes, Lie with Me uses erotic imagery to break down the boundaries of what a healthy relationship is. While 365 Days also uses eroticism abundantly, Lie with Me explores the emotional nature of physical relationships.

The movie received mixed reviews, as it is a meditative movie with characters that are almost impossible to relate to. The film also has scenes of unsimulated sexual contact, making it rare when it comes to erotic thrillers. The fact that it stars some big-time TV names, with Lauren Lee Smith a star from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Eric Balfour from Six Feet Under, makes it an even more surreal watching experience.

8 After (2019)

The Steamy Love Story That Spawned A Franchise

While most viewers seek out these movies because they push the boundaries of their R-rating, After offers a slightly tamer alternative for those looking for steamy romance on screen. After focuses on the college romance between studious Tessa (Josephine Langford) and rebel student Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). Offering a much more realistic alternative to 365 Days, After nevertheless provides a scintillating and troubled romance with many of the trappings of an erotic drama, well within the boundaries of a PG-13 rating.

The
After
film series grew out of the first film’s success and has blossomed into a bona fide romantic franchise.

The After film series grew out of the first film’s success and has blossomed into a bona fide romantic franchise. Thanks to the box office success of the first movie, a sequel called After We Collided was released in 2020 and once again made good money at the box office, resulting in more films despite the poor critical reviews. After We Fell, After Ever Happy, and After Everything followed the first sequel, with those releases finishing off the story from the book series.

After
is available to stream on Netflix.

7 Basic Instinct (1992)

The Sharon Stone & Michael Douglas Classic

Basic Instinct is the film that catapulted Sharon Stone to superstardom and is considered the pinnacle of the erotic romance genre. Crime novelist and homicide suspect Catherine Tramell (Stone) becomes sexually involved with homicide detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the murder. Made with director Paul Verhoeven’s signature over-the-top style, Basic Instinct not only had erotic romance but a compelling murder mystery as well.

Like 365 Days, Basic Instinct drew controversy because of its plot elements, and the film has diminished somewhat in the public eye because of its negative depiction of the LGBTQ+ community, specifically bisexual women. However, when it came out, there wasn’t anything bigger at the box office when it came to erotic thrillers, and it remains one of the most successful of its era, making $352.9 million on a $49 million budget. The film even picked up two Academy Award and two Golden Globe Award nominations.

Basic Instinct
is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+

6 Femme Fatale (2002)

A Romantic Thriller Starring Antonio Banderas & Rebecca Romijn

Femme Fatale
shines on merits beyond its steamy erotic moments

The best erotic romance movies typically add another ingredient on top of their steamier aspects, and Brian De Palma’s Femme Fatale is no exception. Starring Antonio Banderas and Rebecca Romijn, the movie tells the story of Laura Ash (Romijn), a professional thief who betrays members of her crime ring, finding herself entangled in a familial identity switch. She then manipulates a Spanish paparazzo named Bardo into helping her escape the thieves that she betrayed, using her sexuality to push him into danger.

Erotic thrillers are defined by their sexual components, but
Femme Fatale
shines on merits beyond its steamy erotic moments.

Sexuality is at the forefront of the narrative, but Femme Fatale takes things further with a thrilling main storyline. Erotic thrillers are defined by their sexual components, but Femme Fatale shines on merits beyond its steamy erotic moments. The movie received average to poor reviews and sits at 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. This ended up as Brian De Palma’s last film for four years, and he has only made four films since releasing this erotic thriller as a box office bomb ($16.8 million on a $35 million budget).

5 Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Alfonso Cuaron’s Spanish-Language Masterpiece

Iconic Mexican road movie Y tu mamá también is similar to 365 Days in that steamy romance is the heart of the story, but Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece explores deeper themes. Teenagers Tenoch Iturbide and Julio Zapata (Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal) embark on a cross-country road trip with Luisa Cortés (Maribel Verdú), an older woman. The movie is a mix of a road trip and sexual adventure, with a deeper look into teenage rites of passage and the disillusionment that can exist within friendships.

Y tu mamá también is considered one of Alfonso Cuaron’s best works and features many of the themes and motifs that he has mastered in his career since this breakout. The movie picked up a Best Original Screenplay nomination from the Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Awards. It also helped Cuaron move on to bigger franchises (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and two Oscar wins (Gravity and Roma) in the following years.

4 Nymphomaniac (2013)

Lars Von Trier’s Arthouse Romantic Thriller

One of cinema’s most divisive filmmakers, Lars Von Trier managed to outdo himself with his two-part epic Nymphomaniac in 2013. The film concerns Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who recounts her wild sexual experiences to the man who took her in after she was savagely beaten. A co-production of Denmark, France, Belgium, and Germany, the movie had some huge names considering the risque material, including Stellan Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, and Uma Thurman.

Making
365 Days
look tame by comparison, the explicit sexual scenes in
Nymphomaniac
drew in crowds, but Von Trier’s arthouse style left many baffled.

Making 365 Days look tame by comparison, the explicit sexual scenes in Nymphomaniac drew in crowds, but Von Trier’s arthouse style left many baffled. Romance takes a back seat to pure sexuality, and the challenging nature of the story demands deep reflection. This movie was more sexually explicit than many other erotic thrillers, but that didn’t stop it from gaining critical acclaim, as it received several awards nominations in Europe, winning eight at the Robert Awards in Denmark.

3 Love (2015)

An NC-17 Erotic Thriller From Gasper Noe

Director Gaspar Noé is celebrated for his visual approach to storytelling, and his hit film Love delivered a distinct erotic romance. Set in Paris, an American man named Murphy (Karl Glusman) has a sexual relationship with Electra (Aomi Muyock) that is challenged when Omi (Klara Kristin) is invited to join them. Famously, the sex scenes in Love were unsimulated, and the movie was even screened in 3D (via NPR). These scenes are a big reason that Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel (who were married at the time) chose not to star in the movie.

Like 365 Days, Love has plenty of erotic moments, and is even recognized as one of the best NC-17 films of all time, but it also uses its visual motifs to make broader statements about the connection between sexuality and love. The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and received a United States release on home video. Love earned mostly negative reviews, although the movie was called a personal one for Gaspar Noé, but not a compelling one outside of the erotic elements.

2 Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013)

An LGBTQ+ Drama Based On A Comic Book

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Blue Is the Warmest Color is one of the most critically acclaimed erotic movies of the 21st century. It concerns Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), an introverted high school girl questioning her sexuality, and her newfound relationship with graduating art student, Emma (Léa Seydoux). The film is famously known for its sex scenes, which elicited a controversial response upon its release, but it has also been praised for its romantic LGBTQ+ storytelling.

Blue Is the Warmest Color
broke many barriers for the erotic genre through its raw and bold look at young love and chronicled healthy sexual exploration

Blue Is the Warmest Color broke many barriers for the erotic genre through its raw and bold look at young love and chronicled healthy sexual exploration, unlike 365 Days. What many viewers might not realize is that Blue is the Warmest Color is actually a comic book adaptation, as the movie is based on the French graphic novel by Jul Maroh, which they started writing at the age of 19 and took five years to finish the story. The movie earned a Golden Globes nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

1 Call Me By Your Name (2017)

A Subtle And Erotic LGBTQ+ Love Story

Though movies like 360 Days draw in large crowds for their explicit sexual nature and steamy forbidden romance, Call Me by Your Name made a splash more lovingly. Set in the 1980s, the film concerns young Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his romance with graduate student Oliver (Armie Hammer) throughout a hot Italian summer. With a closer look at the harsh realities of forbidden love in less progressive and expressive times, the film elicited both a response of joy and sadness towards its romantic plot.

While Blue Is the Warmest Color told an LGBTQ+ story and found itself surrounded by controversy, by the time Call Me By Your Name came out just five years later, the world had changed enough to warrant a different, more positive response. This movie earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Chalamet, and it won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Though more subtle than 365 Days, Call Me by Your Name was no less erotic.

Call Me By Your Name
is available to stream on Hulu.