X-Rated 2: The Greatest Adult Stars of All-Time

X-Rated 2: The Greatest Adult Stars of All-Time tracks a selective history of performers whose careers endured beyond fleeting trends and helped push adult cinema into the wider cultural conversation. The film gathers candid conversations with veterans, directors, and industry insiders, weaving them with rare clips from classic shoots to illuminate how these stars stayed relevant as technology, distribution, and consumer attitudes shifted. It treats its subjects with a measured mix of admiration and scrutiny, avoiding easy sensationalism while showing both the glamour and the grind behind public personas. Prominent outsiders like Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Soderbergh contribute context, offering a larger frame for why these figures mattered beyond the screen. The film keeps it approachable yet thoughtfully layered throughout.

Created by Selwyn Harris, Eli Cross, and Paul Fishbein, the documentary was released in 2016 as a follow up to an installment. It offers behind the scenes look at controversial genre, tracing how performers shaped audiences and industry practices.

Box office figures for this documentary were not publicized, reflecting its niche release strategy that blended limited theatrical showings with home video and streaming. Its financial footprint remains modest compared with feature films, and distribution relied heavily on digital platforms.

Even as a niche title, it nudges conversations about aging, fame, and the shifting economics of adult entertainment. The inclusion of mainstream voices like Goldberg and Soderbergh adds legitimacy and invites viewers to reframe the performers as media figures who helped shape a decades-long conversation about sex, culture, and celebrity.

Critics tend to note the balance between respectful portraiture and critical scrutiny, highlighting how the film foregrounds personal history and industry dynamics. The documentary argues these stars endure because their images reflect broader cultural shifts around sex, consent, and media visibility, inviting reflection on fame's evolving currency in modern media.