35 Book-To-Screen Adaptations To Enjoy

Jasper Jones book to film
James Graham

Writer

Nov 11, 2024

It’s no secret that filmmakers love adapting books for their films – and an increasing number of TV series.

Though it can be stressful waiting to see how much-loved fictional characters are portrayed on screen (and waiting to see which of our favourite scenes don’t make it into the film at all), for the most part seeing books brought to life on the big screen is fun and rewarding.

It’s a good thing we enjoy them so much, because there are so many book-to-film-and-TV adaptations to enjoy, particularly now we’ve got streaming services.

Fifty Shades Darker 

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger

Synopsis: The sequel to 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey (both in film and in print) raises the stakes for Ana in her relationship with Christian, and builds up to the third and final instalment in the series.

A Street Cat Named Bob 

Starring: Joanne Froggatt, Luke Treadaway

Synopsis: The true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat.

Hidden Figures 

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae

Synopsis: The incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history.

T2: Trainspotting 

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, and Robert Carlyle

Synopsis: A continuation of the Trainspotting saga reuniting the original characters.

Alone in Berlin 

Starring: Emma Thompson, Daniel Bruhl, Brendan Gleeson

Synopsis: Berlin, 1940. Working class couple Otto and Anna Quangel receive the news that their only son has lost his life in the battlefield and decide to resist the Nazi regime in their very own way.

Jasper Jones 

Starring: Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving, Levi Miller, Angourie Rice, Dan Wylie, Aaron McGrath

Synopsis: The long-anticipated film adaptation of Craig Silvey’s best-selling novel.

Jasper Jones book to movie

A Monster Calls 

Starring: Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell

Synopsis: A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mum’s terminal illness.

Before I Fall 

Starring: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller

Synopsis: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Beauty and the Beast 

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson

Synopsis: Rediscover a tale as old as time (seriously, we don’t think this needs a synopsis).

A Dog’s Purpose 

Starring: Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, KJ Apa, John Ortiz

Synopsis: The soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.

The Zookeeper’s Wife 

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Bruhl

Synopsis: The real-life story of one working wife and mother who became a hero to hundreds during World War II.

The Circle

Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega

Synopsis: A woman lands a job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, where she begins to unravel its darkest secrets.

Same Kind of Different As Me 

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Renee Zellweger, Djimon Hounsou, Jon Voight

Synopsis: A modern-day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword 

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Eric Bana

Synopsis: An iconoclastic take on the classic Excalibur myth, tracing Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne.

Everything, Everything 

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Ana de la Reguera

Synopsis: The story of a girl who lives in a bubble, and the boy next door.

Everything Everything book to movie

The Sense of an Ending 

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Andrew Buckley, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Dockery

Synopsis: A man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.

My Cousin Rachel 

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Holliday Grainger

Synopsis: A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul 

Starring: Jason Ian Drucker, Charlie Wright, Owen Asztalos, Tom Everett Scott, Alicia Silverstone

Synopsis: A family road trip to attend Meemaw’s 90th birthday party goes hilariously off course–thanks to Greg’s newest scheme to (finally!) become famous.

The Secret Scripture 

Starring: Rooney Mara, Theo James, Eric Bana, Aidan Turner, Jack Reynor, Vanessa Redgrave

Synopsis: A woman keeps a diary of her extended stay at a mental hospital.

The Dark Tower 

Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey

Synopsis: A quasi-sequel to The Dark Tower book series, this film has been stated to be not a typical adaptation, but more of a new take on the series.

dark tower adaptation

It 

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton

Synopsis: The film tells the story of seven children as they’re terrorised by the eponymous being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey.

Captain Underpants 

Starring: Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Thomas Middleditch

Synopsis: A principal gets hypnotised by two elementary school students and transforms into a comic book-inspired hero named Captain Underpants.

The Snowman 

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Chloe Sevigny, Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons, Val Kilmer

Synopsis: Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose pink scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.

snowman adaptation

The Mountain Between Us 

Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Dermot Mulroney

Synopsis: After the cancellation of their flight due to stormy weather, Dr Ben Payne and writer Ashley Knox board a charter plane. The plane crashes and they survive the incident with injuries, but get lost in the wilderness.

Red Sparrow 

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Joely Richardson, Jeremy Irons

Synopsis: A Russian spy falls for a CIA officer and considers becoming a double agent.

Murder on the Orient Express 

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Lucy Boynton, Olivia Coleman, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley

Synopsis: Agatha Christie’s most famous murder mystery is brought to life on the big screen with a phenomenal all-star cast.

murder on orient express adaptation

Also … a few more to check out.

Tulip Fever 

The Shack 

The Dinner 

The Beguiled 
Based on the novel A Painted Devil by Thomas P. Cullinan.

Wonder 

wonder adaptation

Small screen favourites

So, those are the films based on books to check out. What about TV shows, we hear you ask? Here are our four fabulous TV shows based on books.

Big Little Lies
 

The Handmaid’s Tale 

American Gods 

Alias Grace 

Remember, the book is always better than the movie, right?

dymocks book to film

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

By James Graham

Writer

With over 20 years as a journalist and TV producer, James Graham has a wealth of experience covering the full media spectrum. James has a formidable reputation as a talented media veteran and worked as a reporter, script writer and as the producer of the TV documentary The Road To Athens. He has worked across newspapers, radio and the biggest flagship magazine brands in Australia and New Zealand. Previously, James was the News Director at Woman's Day and New Idea. Whether filing celebrity exclusives, or some of the biggest real-life splashes of recent years, James’ career has always been at the frontline of mainstream media. When not writing, you’ll find him at Royal Randwick, his beloved Long Reef Golf Club on the Northern Beaches – or visiting his mum in his native New Zealand.

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