Long before the magic of cinema entered our world, books were one of the world's best sources of entertainment. Societal pass times have certainly changed since the ancient height of novel popularity, especially since the boom of cinema and television. Luckily, books have adapted to the change.
Nowadays, the most popular novels that sweep pop-culture have crossed into the digital world. Box Office Mojo shows just how much these films have earned. Book-to-film adaptations have been wildly successful, particularly within the last few decades. Many of the money-making franchises known throughout the world found their origins in novels before they found their way into the highest levels of the box office.
'Jurassic Park': The Dinosaur Franchise
The Jurassic Park films made their way into the metaphorical cinematic hall of fame in the 1990s. They then came roaring back in the 2010s with the extended Jurassic World franchise. The initial Jurassic Park film has grossed roughly $1 billion, while the following five movies have recently brought the total amount earned to six billion.
Compared to some other films on this list, it might seem like a small amount. But Jurassic Park sets the precedent here; it is one of the earliest successful book-to-film-franchises out there, and not only dominated the box office in both the past and present, but it has also maintained a monstrously popular presence in modern culture.
'The Lord Of The Rings': Middle Earth Covered In Gold
The Lord of the Rings is yet another interesting case when it comes to book-to-film adaptations. Unlike many of the books that became films in the twenty-first century, this film franchise was based off of novels that had been written decades prior to the theatrical release. Luckily for the movies, this seemed to work in favor of the box office.
The Lord of the Rings films had a massive fandom, one that still happily boasts its presence today, helped by the recent TV show further extending the franchise. Two out of the three Lord of the Rings movies were the highest grossing films of their years back in the early 2000s, with the third installment alone earning well over a billion dollars. As the series continues to grow, so does the money that comes with it, making this decades-spanning story one that will forever stand on a pedestal in cinematic records.
'Harry Potter': The Power Of The Wizarding World
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is perhaps one of the best examples of a book-to-film adaptation franchise. The novels were so popular that people would wait in massive lines for days in order to get the latest book. It was no surprise that a movie deal was quick to follow, so fast that the films started coming out before the book series was finished being written.
The story following a young wizard as he battles the embodiment of evil was a craze that swept the world and dominated the box office. The first movie alone made over a billion dollars, and the magical world is still growing to this day.
'Twilight': Vampire Takeover
The Twilight saga was almost all any teenager from the late 2000s to early 2010s could talk about. The love triangle in particular between Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella (Kristen Stewart), and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) became a constantly debated topic surrounding the vampire/werewolf romantic tale, both in the books and the films.
Though the Twilight franchise did not have the same level of dominion as some other book-to-film works, the story still grossed over $3 billion at the box office, and is still a topic brought up in pop-culture a decade and a half later.
'The Hunger Games': The Odds Are In The Box Office's Favor
The Hunger Games is a bit of a unique case when it comes to this discussion. The films from the franchise as a whole made less money (below three billion) than expected. However, plenty of aspects from the story, from both the books and movies, were constantly referenced during the height of the franchise's popularity.
In terms of financial success, The Hunger Games was not the record-breaking series that many thought it would become (though make no mistake, it still did very well at the box office). In terms of popularity, however, The Hunger Games was talked about just as much as any other book-turned-film franchise during his time period, earning its place in the cinematic halls of book adaptation fame.
'The Chronicles Of Narnia': The Forgotten Dominator
The Chronicles of Narnia serve as another example of books being turned into movies decades after the novels' publications. Lovers of the books watched the films and returned to the wonder of childhood as C. S. Lewis' novels were finally brought to cinematic justice on the big screen.
Though the world of Narnia did not earn as much as those battles within the ancient Middle Earth, the magic on the other side of the wardrobe still managed to rake in over a billion dollars throughout the films' time at the worldwide box office.
Superheroes: Saviors And Celebrities
As the most devout fans and nerds will preach, comic books do in fact qualify as books. And these books, specifically those focusing on the superheroes from the Marvel and DC works, have a long history of being adapted to the big screen. Both the DCEU and the MCU have raked in billions for the box office.
While the DC superheroes have claim to the first successful film comic adaptations, (given countless Batman movies) Marvel is undoubtedly the true money-maker of these comic adaptations. The MCU has grossed double-digit billions, with many of its movies shattering box office records. A nearly endless supply of comics means that plenty of projects are slated to hit screens in the future, ensuring that superheroes will hold onto to their box office crowns for a while longer.
'Gone With The Wind': The Classic Moneymaker
The Golden Age romantic tale of Gone With The Wind was indeed a novel before it became a film. Just like any other book adaptation, the story was so well-liked (at least by the makers of the film) that it was turned into a movie. Made in 1939, it was one of the first color-films, and has remained a pop-culture classic for sixty-plus years.
Back in its day, the film only grossed roughly four hundred million dollars worldwide. When adjusted for inflation, however, the film earned nearly two billion dollars. This puts it as one of the highest grossing movies of both its time and, with that adjustment, in cinematic history.
'Jumanji': The Success Of Reboots
Believe it or not, Jumanji was actually a book before it came onto the big screens. In fact, it was a children's book, written in the early 1980s. The first movie (you might remember it because starred Robin Williams) came out in 1995, and was by no means a box-office record breaker. The world of Jumanji saw its true success when the reboot came in 2017.
The film about a group of teens falling into a video game world (instead of board game) earned nearly one billion dollars at the box office, and its sequel grossed roughly eight hundred million. Because of these reboots, the world of Jumanji finally got its claim to fame in the twenty-first century, and the adventurous world is slated to expand into the real world's theme parks and hotels in the coming years.
Role Reversal: Movies To Books
For as many books have been turned into movies, there are quite a few movies that have turned into books. This role reversal is most prominent with Star Wars and Disney. There are endless Disney fairytale retellings and spinoffs in the world of novels, giving readers a taste of that classic magic in the form of the written word.
Star Wars does the same, transcribed to pages that allow readers to hold an entire galaxy within their hands. These movies-to-books may not shatter literary records, but they certainly show that the money-making films are so popular that plenty fans long to have the stories available to both read and watch.