Here in Australia, we've finally seen Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson heat up our screens in A24’s very hotly-anticipated Babygirl. In case you’ve somehow managed to dodge the hype, the unlikely pair star as a powerful CEO (Kidman) and her much younger intern (Dickinson), who become entangled in an affair. And if you haven't made it to the cinema yet to see for yourself – or familiarised yourself with interviews courtesy of Dickinson and Kidman – the film is about as steamy as they come. 

In a Q&A following a screening of Babygirl in Los Angeles, Kidman said shooting intimate scenes took “an enormous amount of trust” between the cast mates. "We would look at each other and go, 'okay,' " she said. As for why she chose to dip her toes into the erotic thriller genre now, Kidman shared, “This was an area I'd never been. There's a sort of a jump off the cliff thing where you go, okay, I'm just going to abandon everything and explore this with the people that I trust in a genre that is already set, but hopefully we can explore new territory and especially with the female at the helm." She’s also previously opened up to Vanity Fair about the toll of shooting a movie with so much intimacy. “It left me ragged. At some point I was like, I don’t want to be touched. I don’t want to do this anymore, but at the same time I was compelled to do it.”

After actually bearing witness to the film, we can admit, Kidman wasn't exaggerating. If, like us, you've devoured the movie and now are left wondering how to fill your days (sans daydreaming about Dickinson), we've got you covered. Below, we’ve compiled a list of films like Babygirl – some of which might be considered the best erotic films of all time – for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Sanctuary (2022)

In this steamy psychological thriller, Margaret Qualley plays a dominatrix, Rebecca, who is intertwined with a hotel heir, Hal (Christopher Abbott). But their unusual power dynamic is thrown into disarray one fateful night, with Hal on the cusp of becoming CEO of his father's hotel chain. What ensues is a passionate and fraught battle for control.

Secretary (2002)

Secretary is an off-beat portrayal of on-screen desire and, at the time it was released, was one of the first movies to openly tackle sadomasochism. Like Babygirl, much of the action is centred around the workplace. The film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee, a young woman who moves in with her parents after a stay at a mental health facility. Determined to get back into the workforce, she finds work as a secretary for a demanding attorney, E. Edward Grey (James Spader). But, surprise surprise, before long, their professional relationship takes a romantic turn.

Unfaithful (2002)

Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) seems to have the perfect marriage, but all that is jeopardised when she meets a handsome stranger (Olivier Martinez) and strikes up an intense affair. But when her husband, Edward (Richard Gere), finds out, the consequences of her infidelity prove fatal...

Killing Me Softly (2002)

This 2002 classic has danger and desire in spades. Based on the 1999 novel by the same name, the film follows the happily married Alice (Heather Graham), who abandons her husband — and life as she knows it — after meeting Adam (Joseph Fiennes) an impossibly handsome, famous mountaineer. The two quickly marry but, without giving too much away, their marital bliss takes a dangerously sharp turn when Alice realises Adam is definitely not who he seems.

9 1/2 Weeks (1986)

This erotic drama stars Kim Basinger as a New York-based art gallery employee, Elizabeth, who becomes entangled in an affair with a mysterious Wall Street broker (Mickey Rourke). Though the two barely know each other outside of the bedroom, their sexual relationship continues to grow and intensify. Before too long, their companionship is thrown into question as Rourke's character continually pushes for more from Elizabeth, without giving her any markers of a traditional relationship in return.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Eyes Wide Shut stars then-married couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, as husband and wife Bill and Alice Hartford, so of course it made our list. The couple's seemingly happy marriage takes on a new meaning when Alice confesses to Bill that she'd fantasised about having an affair with a man she met on holiday, and even considered leaving Bill and their daughter. Soon after their conversation, Bill is faced with a similar proposition when he is invited to an erotic party by an old friend, Nick (Todd Field) — on the condition that he arrive blindfolded, and wear a mask when inside at all times. But what happens there is more sinister than it first seems, and puts his marriage and life as he knows it on the line.

A Dangerous Method (2011)

This 2011 hit is based on the play The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton, and explores the complex relationships between three key figures in the early development of psychoanalysis: Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), and Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). At the centre of the plot is Jung, and his interactions with his Russian patient Spielrein, who suffers from hysteria. As their therapeutic relationship develops, it becomes more complicated, and the pair become romantically involved.

Blue Velvet (1996)

This film came courtesy of David Lynch, so you know it's good. The plot centers around Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), a young man who returns to his small hometown of Lumberton after his father suffers a stroke. While walking through a field, Jeffrey discovers a severed human ear, which leads him to investigate a series of strange events in the town. This investigation pulls him into the dangerous and perverse world of the glamorous but troubled singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), and a psychotic criminal Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Directed by Philip Kaufman, this film explores themes of love, freedom, politics, and the human condition, set against the backdrop of Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968. The central character, Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis), is a brilliant surgeon who believes in the philosophy of "lightness" — that life is fleeting, so one should live without attachment. This leads him to have numerous casual sexual relationships, including one with Sabina (Lena Olin), a free-spirited artist. However, Tomas then becomes involved with Tereza (Juliette Binoche), a more idealistic and emotionally driven woman who deeply believes in love and loyalty. While Tereza is devoted to Tomas, his indifference toward commitment and his ongoing affair with Sabina leave their relationship strained.

Bound (1996)

This Sapphic crime-thriller follows Corky (Gina Gershon), a tough, ex-convict who has just been released from prison. She takes a job as a handyman in a Chicago apartment building, where she meets Violet (Jennifer Tilly), the glamorous girlfriend of a mobster, Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). Violet and Corky begin a passionate love affair and, simultaneously, become embroiled in a dangerous money laundering plan.