27 Greatest Movies That Were Books First
Some of the best movies started out as books, and film bosses are always on the lookout for the next big adaptation opportunity.
Book-to-film projects are something to get excited about. These are the 27 best movies that were books first, ranked by their audience scores on both Goodreads and Rotten Tomatoes.
Each one is worth a watch and a read. But that, of course, begs the crucial question: Which is better — the book or the movie?
27. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Book release date: Jan. 6, 2015
Movie release date: Oct. 7, 2016
Goodreads score: 3.92 (out of five)
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 49 (out of 100)
Combined score: 52.92 (out of 105)
Bottom Line: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
British author Paula Hawkins’ 2015 thriller “The Girl on the Train” was dubbed “the next ‘Gone Girl’” (more on that later) by many reviewers, but it surpassed Gillian Flynn’s novel in terms of sales, breaking records and making Hawkins one of the richest authors in the world.
The film rights to “The Girl on the Train” were acquired in 2014 (by Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures) before the book was even published, and the multimillion-dollar end result — starring Emily Blunt in the lead role as downtrodden alcoholic divorcee Rachel Watson — was released in 2016. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t do nearly as well as the book.
Read the book: The Girl on the Train, $12.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Girl on the Train, $3.99 to rent
26. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Book release date: April 10, 1925
Movie release date: May 10, 2013 (most recent film adaptation)
Goodreads score: 3.92
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 51.67 (average for the three films rated*)
Combined score: 55.59
*Because some books have been made into various film adaptations, we averaged the Rotten Tomatoes scores for all films that were ranked on the review site.
Bottom Line: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” takes the reader back to the Roaring Twenties and into the decadent, glamorous world of millionaire Jay Gatsby and the object of his obsession, Daisy Buchanan. The classic novel is taught in American classrooms across the U.S.
It’s been adapted for the big screen five times, with the most notable released in 1974 (starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) and 2013 (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan in the lead roles). Unfortunately, the film adaptations have never matched the success of the book.
Read the book: The Great Gatsby, $1.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Great Gatsby, $3.99 to rent
25. The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
Book release date: Oct. 5, 2005 (first book)
Movie release date: Nov. 21, 2008 (first movie)
Goodreads score: 3.63 (average for all four books)
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 64.8 (average for all five movies)
Combined score: 68.43
Bottom Line: The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
Stephanie Meyer’s four-book series of vampire-themed fantasy romance novels, released annually from 2005 through 2008, led to one of the most successful movie franchises of all time.
Kristen Stewart played teenage protagonist Bella, while Robert Pattinson took the role of her love interest Edward Cullen, a 104-year-old vampire. Unlike the books, however, Hollywood broke up the four-part series into five movies, with “Breaking Dawn” split up into two parts.
Read the book: The Twilight Saga Complete Collection, $39.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Twilight Saga: The Complete Movie Collection, $19.99 to buy
24. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Book release date: March 20, 2012
Movie release date: Dec. 3, 2014
Goodreads score: 4.01
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 75
Combined score: 79.01
Bottom Line: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The 2012 memoir “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” is Cheryl Strayed’s account of how her 1,100-mile hike turned into a life-changing journey of self-discovery. A New York Times bestseller, it was the first selection for Oprah Winfrey’s book club 2.0, and it came as no surprise when Strayed announced it was being made into a movie.
With a dream team on board — Nick Hornby wrote the screenplay, and Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern played Strayed and her mother, respectively — it was a critical and commercial winner, earning Witherspoon and Dern Oscar nominations for their performances.
Read the book: Wild, $10.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Wild, $3.80 to rent
23. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Book release date: Sept. 14, 2008 (first book)
Movie release date: March 23, 2012 (first movie)
Goodreads score: 4.22 (average for all three books)
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 76.75 (average for all four movies)
Combined score: 80.97
Bottom Line: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Fans of dystopian sci-fi novels devoured Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” trilogy. It was so popular that it was only a few years before Jennifer Lawrence played the star role as the feisty teenage heroine, Katniss Everdeen.
Each of the movie adaptations — “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire” and the two-part “Mockingjay” — were huge box office hits.
Read the book: The Hunger Games, $25.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Hunger Games, $4.20 to rent
22. Atonement by Ian McEwan
Book release date: 2001
Movie release date: Sept. 7, 2007
Goodreads score: 3.91
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 80
Combined score: 83.91
Bottom Line: Atonement by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan, who is considered to be one of the U.K.’s finest contemporary writers, is best known for his 2001 novel “Atonement.” Set over three time periods (1935, World War II and present day), it deals with some big issues: guilt, forgiveness and the need for personal atonement.
The book was shortlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize for Fiction and included in TIME magazine’s list of the 100 greatest English language novels since 1923. The 2007 movie adaptation, starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan, was also a huge success, winning a BAFTA Award for Best Film, among many others.
Read the book: Atonement, $11.99
Watch the movie: Atonement, $4.20 to rent
21. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Book release date: Sept. 30, 1868
Movie release date: Dec. 25, 2019 (most recent)
Goodreads score: 4.08
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 81.4 (average for all five movies)
Combined score: 85.48
Bottom Line: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
“Little Women” has entertained readers for generations with the timeless themes of love, death, war and family conflict. It follows the four Marsh sisters who struggle to survive during 19th-century New England. Alcott based the novel on her own experiences that were similar to the lead character, tomboy and author-to-be Jo. Fun fact: Alcott’s father ran in the same circles of great American authors Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Of course, the book has been adapted for the big screen several times throughout the years. We counted five film adaptations, but the most popular ones were the 1994 version starring Winona Ryder and the most recent version starring Saoirse Ronan. Interestingly enough, both of these movies were directed by women.
Read the book: Little Women, $0.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Little Women, $8.99 to buy, free with a Starz subscription
20. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Book release date: June 26, 1997 (first book)
Movie release date: Nov. 16, 2001 (first movie)
Goodreads score: 4.53 (average for all seven books)
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 81.88 (average for all eight movies)
Combined score: 86.41
Bottom Line: The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
When J.K. Rowling was a single mom on benefits, writing a story about a boy wizard in her spare time, she probably didn’t imagine it would one day become a bestseller that would be published in 80 languages.
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was the first of seven Harry Potter books, each of which was made into a movie (apart from the final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which — as any devoted Potterhead will confirm — had enough material for two films). We, of course, couldn’t imagine a list without this series and are actually surprised it didn’t rank much higher among audiences.
Read the book: Harry Potter: The Complete Collection, $62.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, $3.99 to rent
19. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Book release date: Sept. 23, 1997
Movie release date: Dec. 16, 2005
Goodreads score: 4.12
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 83
Combined score: 87.12
Bottom Line: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Arthur Golden’s debut historical fiction novel, “Memoirs of a Geisha,” tells the story of fictional geishas working during and after World War II. It was a runaway bestseller and caught the attention of Red Wagon’s Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, who bought the filming rights for $1 million.
The movie version, released in 2005 and starring Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li, received mixed reviews, but it was a commercial success and won many awards, including Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design.
Read the book: Memoirs of a Geisha, $12.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Memoirs of a Geisha, $3.80 to rent
18. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Book release date: Oct. 1, 1996
Movie release date: June 25, 2004
Goodreads score: 4.1
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 85
Combined score: 89.1
Bottom Line: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks’ first published novel “The Notebook” became a worldwide success after being rescued from the slush pile by agent Theresa Park. Its real-life love story (based on the grandparents of Sparks' ex-wife) won the hearts of millions, and it hit The New York Best Seller List in its first week.
Eight years later, it was made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams (in her breakout lead role) alongside Ryan Gosling. Interestingly enough, the two actors argued a lot on set but later ended up dating, giving audiences a happy ending (if only momentarily).
Read the book: The Notebook, $1.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Notebook, $3.99 to rent
17. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Book release date: Jan. 10, 2012
Movie release date: June 6, 2014
Goodreads score: 4.21
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 85
Combined score: 89.21
Bottom Line: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
For “The Fault in Our Stars,” author John Green was inspired by Esther Earl, a teenage girl with thyroid cancer he met at a Harry Potter convention in 2009. The book, published in 2012, is narrated by Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old cancer patient who meets and falls in love with Augustus Waters, who also has cancer.
The book was a huge success; two years later, with Shailene Woodley as Hazel and Ansel Elgort as Augustus, the movie was also a blockbuster.
Read the book: The Fault in Our Stars, $9.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Fault in Our Stars, $4.20 to rent
16. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Book release date: April 22, 2012
Movie release date: Oct. 3, 2014
Goodreads score: 4.07
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 87
Combined score: 91.07
Bottom Line: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Inspired by the story of Californian Laci Peterson, who disappeared in late 2002, Gillian Flynn wrote “Gone Girl” about married couple Amy and Nick Dunne. Amy disappears without a trace, and Nick is implicated.
It was the perfect material for a Hollywood blockbuster, and two years after the book’s 2012 publication, the movie hit theaters. It was adapted by Flynn herself, directed by David Fincher and starred Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck as Amy and Nick. Let’s just say, marriage hasn’t been the same ever since.
Read the book: Gone Girl, $9.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Gone Girl, $3.80 to rent
15. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Book release date: 1826
Movie release date: Sept. 25, 1992 (most recent one)
Goodreads score: 3.71
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 88 (only one rated)
Combined score: 91.71
14. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Book release date: November 1957
Movie release date: Dec. 22, 1965
Goodreads score: 4.03
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 88
Combined score: 92.03
Bottom Line: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
This romantic drama was set in Russia during World War I. The tale depicted the effects of the Russian Revolution on the protagonist, physician and poet Yuri Zhivago.
Boris Pasternak’s independent stance upset the USSR so much that the country refused publication of the book in the country until 1987. During that time, the CIA published copies in Russian to secretly distribute it to Russian citizens as a literary weapon during the Cold War. It was so popular that Pasternak received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The 193-minute film received equal praise and earned five Oscar nominations. The Best Picture award, however, went to “The Sound of Music” that year.
Read the book: Doctor Zhivago, $9.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Doctor Zhivago, $2.99 to rent
13. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Book release date: Oct. 30, 1811
Movie release date: Dec. 14, 1995
Goodreads score: 4.07
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 90
Combined score: 94.07
Bottom Line: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Jane Austen wrote several novels that were turned into movies, but “Sense and Sensibility” is arguably the most popular. Believe it or not, it was published anonymously with “By A Lady” written on the title page where Austen’s name would have gone. The story follows the three Dashwood sisters who struggle with love and heartbreak.
It’s been adapted a few times for TV and for the stage, but the 1995 film release starred Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet. It earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, making Thompson the first person to win Academy Awards for both acting and screenwriting.
Read the book: Sense and Sensibility, $0.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Sense and Sensibility, 12.99 to rent, free with an IMDb TV subscription
12. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Book release date: Oct. 12, 1958
Movie release date: Oct. 5, 1961
Goodreads score: 3.89
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 91
Combined score: 94.89
Bottom Line: Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
While there aren’t many movies that are better than the book, this might be one of them. Capote wrote this novella about Holly Golightly, a New York socialite that quickly became a favorite character in American fiction.
Audrey Hepburn seemed born to play this role, although she said it was one of her most difficult because she was an introvert playing an extrovert. Regardless, it earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination and also won Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.
"Moon River" was named the fourth most memorable song in Hollywood history by the American Film Institute (AFI) in 2004.
Read the book: Breakfast at Tiffany's, $12.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Breakfast at Tiffany's, $3.99 to rent
11. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Book release date: Nov. 7, 1990
Movie release date: June 11, 1993
Goodreads score: 4.03
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 91
Combined score: 95.03
Bottom Line: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
“Jurassic Park,” Michael Crichton’s 1990 sci-fi classic, is responsible for the biggest dinosaur movie franchise of all time. Steven Spielberg adapted the book for the big screen in 1993, after a four-studio bidding war for the film rights.
Empire’s five-star review hailed it as “quite simply one of the greatest blockbusters of all time.” Crichton’s sequel, “The Lost World,” was also adapted for the big screen.
Read the book: Jurassic Park, $9.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Jurassic Park, $3.60 to rent
10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Book release date: June 11, 1960
Movie release date: Dec. 25, 1962
Goodreads score: 4.28
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 92
Combined score: 96.28
Bottom Line: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Gregory Peck won his one and only Oscar for Best Actor in 1963 for his role as lawyer Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” In 2003, AFI named Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century. But Finch was a hero on paper before he was inspiring moviegoers in theaters around the world. Harper Lee’s novel, published in 1960, was an instant success and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961.
A second generation was introduced to Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman,” which features the same iconic characters about 15 years after the initial story. She wrote the book in the mid-1950s, but it was only just published in 2015.
Read the book: To Kill a Mockingbird, $9.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: To Kill a Mockingbird, $3.99 to rent
9. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Book release date: Oct. 20, 1955
Movie release date: Dec. 19, 2001 (first movie)
Goodreads score: 4.5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 92 (average for all three movies)
Combined score: 96.5
8. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Book release date: Sept. 6, 2016
Movie release date: Jan. 6, 2017
Goodreads score: 3.94
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 93
Combined score: 96.94
Bottom Line: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
The never-been-told-before story of the crucial role that African American female mathematicians played in America’s space program was a New York Times Bestseller and was quickly made into a movie that was met with equal praise.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae starred in the movie that inspired both females and people of color to dream big. It was nominated for three Oscars and two Golden Globes and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Read the book: Hidden Figures, $10.99 on Kindle, free with Kindle Unlimited
Watch the movie: Hidden Figures, $3.99 to rent
7. The Shining by Stephen King
Book release date: Jan. 28, 1977
Movie release date: May 23, 1980
Goodreads score: 4.23
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 93
Combined score: 97.23
Bottom Line: The Shining by Stephen King
Lots of Stephen King’s horror novels have been turned into movies, but Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of King’s 1977 release “The Shining” is perhaps the most successful — despite initially opening to mixed reviews.
The lead character, aspiring writer Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) ranked 25th on the AFI’s 2003 list of the greatest movie heroes and villains. The film’s seminal scene, when Torrance hacks his way through a door with an axe, contains one of the most quoted lines in film history: “Here’s Johnny!”
Read the book: The Shining, $8.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Shining, $3.60 to rent
6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Book release date: June 30, 1936
Movie release date: Dec. 15, 1939
Goodreads score: 4.3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 93
Combined score: 97.3
Bottom Line: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
First published in 1936, Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic American Civil War-era novel “Gone with the Wind” gave the world two of the most famous literary characters: Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. The movie adaptation, released in 1939, starred Vivien Leigh as O’Hara and Clark Gable as Butler. Taking inflation into account, it’s still the most successful film in box office history.
Throughout the years, the film has been criticized for its stereotypical portrayals of African Americans and was temporarily taken off HBO Max as a result in June 2020. The streaming service has since brought the film back, accompanied by two videos that discuss its historical context, including the fact that these depictions were controversial even at the time of the film’s release.
Read the book: Gone with the Wind, $0.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Gone with the Wind, $3.60
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Book release date: 1982
Movie release date: Dec. 16, 1985
Goodreads score: 4.21
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 94
Combined score: 98.21
4. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Book release date: Sept. 1, 1973
Movie release date: Sept. 25, 1987
Goodreads score: 4.26
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 94
Combined score: 98.26
Bottom Line: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The 1973 fantasy romance novel “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman (who was also an award-winning playwright who wrote “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “All the President’s Men”) wasn’t made into a movie until 1987. For fans of fairytale adventures, it was worth the wait.
With Robin Wright as the titular heroine, starring alongside Cary Elwes and Billy Crystal, it was well-received but didn’t set the box office on fire. However, it has since become a cult classic and was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2016 for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
Read the book: The Princess Bride, $9.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: The Princess Bride, $3.99 to rent
2. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (Tie)
Book release date: Aug. 17, 1996
Movie release date: Oct. 15, 1999
Goodreads score: 4.19
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 96
Combined score: 100.19
Bottom Line: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
This book tied with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in the second spot. Chuck Palahniuk’s first book was a hit and earned him rave reviews as a visionary of his generation. The dark tale takes readers into the underground “fight club” of Tyler Durden, where two men fight “as long as they have to.”
Of course, it’s much more than that, with a main theme of conflict between Generation X and big corporations. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt bring the book’s complexities to life on screen, and it’s since turned into a cult classic.
One of the lines audiences everywhere will never forget: “First rule: Don't talk about fight club. Second rule: Don't talk about fight club.”
Read the book: Fight Club, $9.49 on Kindle
Watch the movie: Fight Club, $3.80 to rent
2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (Tie)
Book release date: 1962
Movie release date: Nov. 19, 1975
Goodreads score: 4.19
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 96
Combined score: 100.19
Bottom Line: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (tie)
Quite revolutionary for the time, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is set in an Oregon mental hospital, at a time when patients still received electric shock therapy. The book questions institutional processes in the 1960s and discusses the fine line between sanity and madness.
The 1975 film starred Jack Nicholson and was met with much acclaim, winning all five major Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It’s long been considered one of the greatest films of all time, with a No. 33 spot on AFI’s 100 Movies list.
Read the book: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, $5.99 on Kindle
Watch the movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, $3.80 to rent
1. The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Book release date: March 10, 1969
Movie release date: March 24, 1972
Goodreads score: 4.37
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 98
Combined score: 102.37
