By Alex Ritman, Ramin Setoodeh, Ellise Shafer

According To The variety Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson brought sexy back to Venice Friday night at the premiere of Halina Reijn’s kinky, sex-filled “Babygirl.”

In the A24 movie, Kidman plays a high-powered CEO who starts a secret affair with her new intern (Dickinson).

While not a conventional art house movie, “Babygirl” stimulated the Venice audience. As the end credits rolled on the film at the Sala Grande Theatre, the crowd erupted into a 6.5-minute standing ovation.

As the audience cheered, Kidman hugged Reijn and beamed and blushed at all the attention.

It was a sweaty night in Italy — in more ways than one. “It’s so hot,” Kidman said as she waved to fans before entering the theater earlier, on a day when temperatures crept up to 90 degrees. But “Babygirl” seemed to crank up the heat even more as the movie got underway. Kidman’s character Romy pushes the envelope in a game of sexual domination with Dickinson’s Samuel. After the movie ended, Dickinson was spotted in the men’s bathroom. “I almost didn’t sit through,” he told a friend, before adding that he enjoyed the film.

“Babygirl” — which premiered in competition at Venice — also stars Antonio Banderas, Banderas, Sophie Wilde and Esther McGregor.

Kidman has a long history with Venice. At the 2004 edition, she starred in Jonathan Glazer’s unsettling psychological drama “Birth,” which sparked controversy — and boos at the festival — over a scene in which she shared a bath with her 10-year-old co-star Cameron Bright. At the Venice press conference she address the controversy by saying, “It wasn’t that I wanted to make a film where I kiss a 10-year-old boy. I wanted to make a film where you understand love.”

After Venice, “Babygirl” is due to have its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before opening in theaters in December.