Live action adaptations of books have been around for a long time. For example, “Jaws”, widely regarded as the first blockbuster film, was based on a novel; as was Jurassic Park, another Steven Spielberg creation.
Many high profile novel/live action adaptations have come out since, begging the question: Which is the best?
THE HUNGER GAMES
From the mind of Suzanne Collins, the dystopian, bloody and reality TV child murder filled “Hunger Games” is a classic case of a film becoming more popular than the novels they were based on.
“The Hunger Games” novel was released in 2008, quickly followed by two sequels, titled “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay” respectively. Just two years after the trilogy completed, the first film directed by Gary Ross was released in 2012, and itself would be followed by three more installments in the series. Collins co-wrote the screenplay with Ross and Billy Ray, giving the films a certain faith in the original source material.
The tragedy and triumph of “The Hunger Games” franchise captured the hearts of readers and movie-goers across the world. Most recently, the prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” released in 2020, received its own film adaptation in 2023, relighting the fire that “The Hunger Games” started almost 18 years ago. Another prequel novel, “Sunrise On The Reaping” will soon have its live action adaptation in theaters as well.
After the success of the film franchise, Katniss Everdeen is almost as much of a household name as the actress portraying her, Jennifer Lawrence, and its impact on pop culture is near unmatched.
HARRY POTTER
Nowadays, knowing your Hogwarts House is almost as common as knowing your birthday.
However, in 1997 when J.K. Rowling first released “Harry Potter & The Sorcerers Stone,” Potter, Weasely, Granger, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Gryffindore, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and he-who-shall-not-be-named weren’t anywhere near the popularity they have today.
The book series, popular in its own right, would spawn six books. The film series began in 2001 with “Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone,” starring Daniel Radcliffe as the titular character, and led to 11 films, including spin-off “Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them.”
While the series was popular before, the films made it the cultural phenomenon it is today. It feels like almost every day the “wizarding world” invades our own a little more; whether it be from Universal Studios or merch in Hot Topics across the world.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga based on his children’s book “The Hobbit” (which would get its own adaptation in three parts from 2012 to 2014) was originally released as three novels between 1954 and 1955. The trilogy of films, directed by Peter Jackson, was released between 2001 and 2003, almost 50 full years later.
The impact “The Lord Of The Rings” has had on pop culture, and fantasy as a genre, cannot be understated. The adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and a varying cast of elves and dwarves have inspired numerous fantasy tropes so common that you may not even know where they came from. The old, wise wizard; the orcs and elves; a dragon sat atop a mound of gold; all started with Tolkien’s novel.
J.R.R. Tolkien is to fantasy novels what The Beatles are to music; criticized as being “boring” because all of the common tropes in their media were started by them, and the films only enhanced his reach over the genre as a whole.
GAME OF THRONES
It can be inferred that “Game Of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin (and by extension its numerous spin-offs) was adapted into a TV show as opposed to a film out of necessity rather than convenience. This “necessity” comes from the books’ egregious length.
The five “Game Of Thrones” books were released between 1996 and 2011, with the HBO TV show premiering in 2011. Between then and 2019 when the show came to a close, “Game Of Thrones” had a chokehold on TV that could not be matched.
The story of Daenarys, House Targaryen, House Lannister, Jon Snow, sex, murder and dragons’ deathgrip is still felt in the fantasy genre even after the original show’s close.
MAZE RUNNER
If there’s any dark horse on this list, it’s James Dashner’s “Maze Runner.” The trilogy, released between 2009 and 2011, would spawn a trilogy of films as well, starring Dylan O’Brien, with the first premiering in 2014, however prequels “The Kill Order” and “The Fever Code” have yet to receive film adaptations.
The dystopian story flies under the radar compared to these pop culture juggernauts, but it shouldn’t be counted out. Its unique take on the dystopian genre can hold its own against the rest, and the films carry the same spirit.
PERCY JACKSON
Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” and spinoff novels are 20+ strong and certainly outnumber everything else on this list. Not a quantity over quality situation, though; not by any stretch of the imagination.
The adventures of Percy Jackson and his mythical Camp Half-Blood compatriots contained in the absolute monolith body of work by Riordan led to two films, released in 2010 and 2013, and TV show “Percy Jackson & The Olympians” in 2023. To say the fanbase lives and dies by the series would be an understatement.
