Movies based on books have long been successful on the big screen. It's not always easy to transfer the magic on the page to success in the theater -- but when filmmakers discover that one thing that really works from just the right books, movie adaptations can force people to put down the books, leave the house and head straight to the theater to watch the stories unfold on a screen instead.
Countless movies based on books have gone on to become classics in their own right, in some cases matching a book's popularity or even blowing it out of the water. Hoping to become a classic one day is the new flick It Ends With Us, a romance based on the 2016 book of the same name by Colleen Hoover. It stars Blake Lively as a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business.
And while we wait to see if It Ends With Us becomes one of those movie adaptations that people will love talking about for decades to come, here is a list of the 25 best movies based on books to explore and check out right now, as voted on by thousands of Fandango moviegoers. With epic franchises like Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Jurassic Park, along with classics like Forrest Gump and The Godfather, this list is loaded with great movies.
Too Long, Didn't Read Summary:
• Movies based on books are responsible for some of the most iconic films to ever grace the big screen
• With epic franchises like Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Jurassic Park, and classics like The Godfather and To Kill a Mockingbird, the movies span many decades, genres and stories
• This collection of movie adaptations was voted on by thousands of Fandango movie fans
25. American Psycho (2000)
68% on Rotten Tomatoes
265 votes
This satirical horror film was directed by Mary Harron, and most of the dialogue is taken word-for-word from the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. Christian Bale stars as a New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer, a role that helped establish Bale as a leading man. The film’s biggest budget expense was purchasing the rights to the various ’80s hit songs used throughout, but it was all worth it as American Psycho performed well at the box office and with critics, and went on to develop a cult following.
24. Little Women (2019)
95% on Rotten Tomatoes
330 votes
2019’s Little Women marks the seventh film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novelt, which follows four young women and their lives as sisters. Writer and director Greta Gerwig has said that as a young girl, the book inspired her to become a writer and director, and she takes on both roles here. The ensemble cast includes stars like Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep and Bob Odenkirk, to name a few. The movie tells the story of the March sisters as told through the eyes and voice of Jo March, played by Ronan. Little Women was nominated for six Academy Awards and took home one for Best Costume Design.
23. Gone Girl (2014)
88% on Rotten Tomatoes
341 votes
This psychological thriller was directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn, and based on her 2012 book of the same name. Ben Affleck stars as a man who becomes the main suspect in the disappearance of his wife, played by Rosamund Pike. With a supporting cast that includes Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Carrie Coon in her film debut, not to mention the Oscar-winning duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross taking care of the score, Gone Girl would go on to become Fincher’s highest-grossing film, while earning numerous award nominations for Pike.
22. No Country for Old Men (2007)
93% on Rotten Tomatoes
376 votes
Directed and written by Joel and Ethan Coen, this film is based on the 2005 novel by Cormac McCarthy, who originally wrote the story as a screenplay before reframing it as a novel. Full circle moment. The film follows the mayhem that ensues after a hunter, played by Josh Brolin, happens upon a drug deal gone wrong and walks away with more than $2 million in cash from the scene. He's then tracked by a brutal killer, played by Javier Bardem, and a sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones. No Country For Old Men ended up being a huge critical success, nominated for eight Academy Awards and winning four, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Plus, Bardem became the first person to win Best Supporting Actor at the SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and Academy Awards in the same year.
21. Fight Club (1999)
80% on Rotten Tomatoes
428 votes
Another David Fincher film on this list: 1999’s Fight Club, based on Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel. Edward Norton stars as an insomnia-stricken depressed man who meets a strange soap salesman, played by Brad Pitt. Together, they start an underground fight club for men who are sick of their ho-hum lives. When the film hit theaters in 1999 it failed to meet the studio’s box office expectations, had some polarizing reviews from critics and became one of the most controversial and talked about movies of the year. The real success came with Fight Club’s home video release, which helped to create a cult following and forced critics and pop culture to revisit the film.
20. The Exorcist (1973)
78% on Rotten Tomatoes
436 votes
This horror classic was directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel. The movie stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller and Linda Blair, the latter of whom beat out over 500 other teens for the role, including a 13-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis. The Exorcist was supposedly inspired by a true story, about a famous actress who hires two Catholic priests to perform an exorcism to free her young daughter from demonic possession. The film had a visceral effect on viewers to the point that some theaters began handing out barf bags. But perhaps that was a good thing, because The Exorcist would go on to become the first horror film ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
19. The Help (2011)
78% on Rotten Tomatoes
442 votes
This period drama was written and directed by Tate Taylor, based on Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel. Set in 1963 Mississippi, the movie follows a young white woman who is an aspiring journalist, and her relationship with two Black maids during the Civil Rights Movement. The Help features an ensemble cast that includes Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson and Sissy Spacek. It had both critical and box office success, and picked up four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, with Octavia Spencer winning one for Best Supporting Actress.
18. Gone With the Wind (1939)
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
465 votes
This epic historical romance film was adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel of the same name. With the backdrop of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, Gone With the Wind tells the story of a strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner who struggles to return her family’s estate to its original glory while also dealing with her own romantic pursuits. The film stars Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland and Clark Gable, the latter of whom took a while to come aboard because he was under contract with another studio. Gone With the Wind set records at the time with 13 Academy Award nominations and ten wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Hattie McDaniel, who became the first African American to win an Oscar.
17. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
93% on Rotten Tomatoes
468 votes
Jack Nicholson stars in this psychological drama as a small-time convict who fakes being crazy so he can get transferred to the state mental hospital, where he clashes with the facility and its sadistic head nurse. It’s based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same name, and was directed by Miloš Forman, with a supporting cast that includes Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, William Redfield and the film debuts of Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif. The movie became just the second film to win all five major Academy Awards in the same year: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay -- a feat that wouldn’t be matched again until The Silence of the Lambs did it in 1991.
16. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
75% on Rotten Tomatoes
517 votes
This dramedy was directed by David Frankel, based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger. Anne Hathaway stars as the assistant to a demanding New York fashion magazine editor, played by Meryl Streep, with Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt in supporting roles. 20th Century Fox bought the rights to Weisberger's novel before it was published, although the movie was not greenlit until Streep was cast. And that's a good thing, considering Streep’s performance – largely believed to be based on US Vogue editor Anna Wintour – received critical praise and numerous award nominations.
15. Blade Runner (1982)
89% on Rotten Tomatoes
527 votes
This Ridley Scott film takes place in a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019 – a pretty far-off future back in 1982! Harrison Ford stars as a former cop forced back into his old job to hunt down some rogue androids, known as replicants. Blade Runner is an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel, contributing to more of Dick's work being turned into Hollywood blockbusters like Total Recall (1990) and Minority Report (2002). Blade Runner would go on to achieve cult classic movie status, spawning a 2017 sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve and with Harrison Ford returning to star alongside new-to-the-franchise Ryan Gosling.
14. Dune (2021)
83% on Rotten Tomatoes
537 votes
Director Denis Villeneuve Dune is the third completed adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, following David Lynch’s 1994 film and John Harrison’s miniseries from the year 2000. This version, the most critically and financially successful of the bunch, features an epic ensemble cast with Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem. Dune performed well at the box office despite COVID-19 still affecting theaters, and would go on to win six Academy Awards on ten nominations. And since this film only covers the first half of the book, Dune: Part Two was released in 2024.
13. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
93% on Rotten Tomatoes
542 votes
To Kill a Mockingbird was directed by Robert Mulligan with a screenplay by Horton Foote based on Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. In the movie, it’s Gregory Peck stepping into the shoes of Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer and father of two who is assigned to defend a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Peck took the role when he was 45 and already Oscar-nominated four times over. His performance ended up becoming synonymous with the character and with his career in general. And he finally won his first Academy Award for the role.
12. Schindler's List (1993)
98% on Rotten Tomatoes
574 votes
This film was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and based on a 1982 non-fiction novel by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally called Schindler's Ark. The movie stars Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who, as a member of the Nazi party, ended up saving more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. Steven Zaillian wrote the screenplay and Spielberg shot the film in black and white, approaching it as more of a documentary than a feature in many ways. The final product is what many critics consider to be one of the greatest films ever made. It was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay.
11. The Hunger Games (2012)
84% on Rotten Tomatoes
605 votes
The Hunger Games is based on the 2008 novel by Suzanne Collins, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The film takes place in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future where Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, takes her younger sister’s place in the Hunger Games, a nationally televised ultimate fight to the death between kids. The movie was a huge hit at the box office, paving the way for three quick sequels over the next three years -- all based on books in the series -- and a prequel film released in 2023.
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
644 votes
Based on the 1999 novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling, this third installment in the Harry Potter film series finds Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry in his third year at Hogwarts. Things start off badly when Harry learns that the deranged killer Sirius Black, played by Gary Oldman, has escaped from Azkaban prison and is coming after him. After directing the first two films, Chris Columbus stepped down and Alfonso Cuarón took over, shooting with wider lenses and changing the shape of Harry’s wand, among other tweaks. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban would go on to become the second-highest-grossing film of 2004, behind Shrek 2.
9. The Godfather (1972)
97% on Rotten Tomatoes
736 votes
Director Francis Ford Coppola's epic crime drama was based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel. The story follows the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, who is looking to pass down control of his organized crime dynasty to his reluctant son, Michael, played by Al Pacino. A couple of year before the book's release, a literary scout for Paramount Pictures had caught wind of the 60-page unfinished manuscript, and the studio quickly obtained the rights for $80,000. The book went on to be a smash hit and Puzo was brought in to work with Coppola to adapt it into a movie. It was Puzo who initially wanted Brando to play the Godfather, despite push-back from the studio based on poor performances of Brando's recent films. Of course, Brando got the part and went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, to go along with the film winning a pair for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
8. Jaws (1975)
97% on Rotten Tomatoes
765 votes
Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name, Jaws stars Roy Scheider as the police chief of a small beach town who's just discovered a killer shark problem. So he teams up with a marine biologist and an old seafarer, played by Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw respectively, to hunt the shark down. While some footage of real sharks was captured for the film, three full-size prop sharks were made, which could take up to 14 people to operate. Unfortunately the prop sharks didn’t work all that well, forcing Spielberg to merely hint at the shark in many scenes instead of showing it -- which he and others have said probably actually made Jaws better. The movie has since reached iconic status as a prototypical summer blockbuster, and was the highest-grossing film ever until Star Wars (1977) came along.
7. The Princess Bride (1987)
96% on Rotten Tomatoes
802 votes
The Princess Bride was directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman, who adapted the script from his 1973 novel. This fairy tale adventure is about a farm boy-turned-pirate – played by Cary Elwes – who is trying to reunite with his one true love, played by Robin Wright. The Princess Bride didn’t perform overly well at the box office initially, but through VHS and eventually DVD rentals, along with TV airings, it went on to become a great cult film that is considered one of the best of the 80s. Talks of a remake popped up in 2019 but fans -- including Elwes himself -- didn't react well.
6. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
95% on Rotten Tomatoes
813 votes
Adapted from Thomas Harris' 1988 novel, this influential thriller stars Jodie Foster as an FBI trainee assigned to interview an imprisoned, cannibalistic psychopath, played by Anthony Hopkins, in the hope that he can help capture an elusive serial killer. The Silence of the Lambs opened on Valentine's Day in 1991 and went on to become the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the third -- and, as of this writing, most recent -- film to win Oscars in the five major categories: Best Picture, Best Director for Jonathan Demme, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Hopkins and Best Actress for Foster.
5. The Shawshank Redemption (1995)
89% on Rotten Tomatoes
815 votes
One of the most beloved films on our list, this prison drama is based on the 1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film was written and directed by Frank Darabont and tells the story of a banker, played by Tim Robbins, who is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. Shawshank was actually a bit of a box office disappointment at first, going up against powerhouses like Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump. But after seven Academy Award nominations and positive word of mouth, it would became the top video rental of 1995. And the rest is history.
4. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
98% on Rotten Tomatoes
829 votes
This film classic is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's children's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first published in 1900. The film stars Judy Garland as young Dorothy Gale who, along with her dog Toto, is carried away by a tornado from her Kansas farm to the magical land of Oz. There she embarks on a journey with three new friends to find the wizard who can get her back home. The Wizard of Oz generated plenty of interest due to its use of Technicolor, but where the film really excelled with fans – and what it earned two Academy Awards for – was the music. It won Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Over the Rainbow.”
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
92% on Rotten Tomatoes
867 votes
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1954 novel, The Fellowship of the Ring, and was the first installment in a highly successful movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. The film follows a young Hobbit named Frodo, played by Elijah Wood, who sets out on a mission to destroy the One Ring in an effort to save the future of civilization. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring grossed $880 million worldwide in its initial release, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year, and the fifth highest-grossing film ever at the time.
2. Forrest Gump (1994)
76% on Rotten Tomatoes
870 votes
Robert Zemeckis directed this film baesd on the 1986 novel of the same name, albeit with key differences. The movie looks at a plethora of historical events through the eyes of an Alabama man named Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks. The character is deemed to have an IQ of 75, but thanks to the support of his mother, played by Sally Field, he goes on to live an amazing life -- even unwittingly influencing several defining events of the 20th century in the United States. The story moved through the years with the help of visual effects, which put Hanks into archied footage, and a wildly popular soundtrack, which sold over 12 million copies. Forrest Gump became the top-grossing film in America and won six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hanks.
1. Jurassic Park (1993)
92% on Rotten Tomatoes
961 votes
Jurassic Park began life as a 1990 Michael Crichton novel and went on to become one of the most successful films in box office history. Steven Spielberg directs a cast that includes Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough, and the movie features impressive special effects and action-packed drama. The result: one of the biggest summer blockbusters of the 90s, which has since spawned a full-blown franchise in the form of numerous sequels, animated series – both Lego and otherwise – plus video games, comic books, toys and more.
