Over the years many beloved books have made the precarious leap from page to the big screen. While some have undoubtedly created a worthwhile new chapter; others proved that the transition wasn't such a novel idea (John Carter, The Black Dahlia, The Girl on the Train, Paper Towns, The Hobbit).
With author Colleen Hoover's acclaimed romance novel, It Ends With Us, hitting cinemas this weekend - our reviewer gave it two stars - we take a look back at some of the best book-to-big-screen adaptations that have earned popcorn-worthy status.
Twilight
The supernaturally successful Twilight Saga film series made A-list stars of its lead actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, inspired a cult-like fervour amongst legions of fans and grossed over $3.36 billion worldwide. The series is based on the romance fantasy books by American author Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon mum-of-three who had a dream about tortured vampire Edward and his human beloved Bella and went on to write the first book in the series – Twilight - which was published in 2005. The rest, as they say, is history.
The book went to Number 1 on the New York Times best-sellers list and garnered three rabidly received follow-ups: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008). The book series has sold over 160 million copies worldwide, making Meyer the bestselling author in the US for two years running, with translations into 37 languages.
Neither the books nor the ensuing films were particularly critically acclaimed. They generated controversy in some quarters for their depiction of Edward and Bella's fraught relationship but they were feverishly received by fans and became a knockout commercial triumph. Twilight fever has never really gone away, and in 2020 Meyers published Midnight Sun, which retells the story of the original Twilight book but from Edward’s perspective instead of Bella’s.
Where the Crawdads Sing
American wildlife scientist Delia Owens’ accomplished and atmospheric debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, was released in 2018 and soon became a runaway hit, selling over 18 million copies worldwide. The coming-of-age murder mystery topped best-sellers lists, was picked by Reese Witherspoon’s online book club and adapted into a movie by Sony Pictures, with Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine producing.
The book is skilfully split across two timelines, following the young "marsh girl", Kya, as she grows up alone in the marshes of North Carolina, interspersed with a murder investigation of well-known local man Chase Andrews, with whom she was romantically entwined. In the film adaptation, released in 2022, Kya is played by British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, fresh from her star-making turn in Normal People and Golden-Globe nominated performance in the crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.
The movie is largely faithful to the book, with the plot diverging in some minor ways, but it keeps the blindsiding twist ending intact. The film received mixed reviews, but Edgar-Jones' central performance and the cinematography were widely praised.
Foster/An Cailín Ciuin
Irish writer Claire Keegan released her masterful work Foster in 2010. This 89-page novella packs an outsized emotional gut punch that lingers long after the last page is turned. Set in 1981, the story follows a nine-year-old girl who moves in with distant relatives on a farm for the summer and begins to blossom in their care. The details of the arrangement are sparse, as is the history of the couple the girl grows to love, and Keegan’s economical prose gradually fills out the backstory.
The book was adapted for the big screen in 2022 by writer and director Colm Bairéad in his feature film debut. The beautifully understated, deeply moving An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) stars Catherine Clinch in her film debut, Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett and went on to make waves internationally. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won two awards, opened the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival and swept the board at the IFTAs with seven awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress for the then 11-year-old Clinch.
It also became the first Irish language film in history to be nominated for an Oscar when it was named in the Best International Film category in 2023, was nominated for two BAFTA awards and became the highest-grossing Irish-language film of all time.
The Notebook
Released in 1996, The Notebook was the debut novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks, who went on to become a best-selling author. The book was an instant success, making the New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and eventually spending 56 weeks there.
It tells the story of the ever-lasting love between Noah, a soldier who recently returned from WWII, and Allie, a woman from his hometown who he has not been able to forget. In 2004, the book was adapted into an even more heart-wrenching movie with the perfectly cast Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the central roles.
Directed by Nick Cassavetes from a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, the film brings their enduring love story to life, hinging on the chemistry-laden performances of the leading stars that captured the hearts of film fans around the world.
Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics at the time, the film was a sleeper hit at the box office and has become a cult classic in the years since its release.
Oppenheimer
Cillian Murphy became the first Irish-born winner of the Best Actor Award for his acclaimed portrayal of theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in director Christopher Nolan's award-winning big screen outing. But how did the acclaimed filmmaker begin his research?
Well, it turns out the movie was adapted from the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. At 700 pages, Nolan had stellar source material to fully bring a detailed piece about World War 2's most famous scientific personalities to cinema-goers.
The book, which took decades to put into one volume, won a 2006 Pulitzer Prize in the biography category for its in-depth analysis of both Oppenheimer's contribution to the creation of the atomic bomb and his disapproval of its successor in the hydrogen bomb.
Nolan's offering also fared well and was the biggest winner of the night at the 2024 Academy Awards, taking home an impressive seven gongs — including Best Picture.
Speaking to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nolan commended the writers for leaving "no stone left unturned".
"Everything that makes it seem daunting as adaptation is what I found wonderful to adapt," he said.
"Your biggest hindrance as a screenwriter is authority, is knowledge. …With American Prometheus, Kai Bird and Marty Sherwin (and Marty Sherwin in particular spent 25 years researching the book) there is an enormous amount of authoritative information, every rock's been lifted, no stone left unturned. And so, you’re then dealing with an enormous amount of knowledge that, thankfully, has an index at the back."
The Bikeriders
Earlier in the year, writer-director Jeff Nichols made some noise with The Bikeriders - a deftly crafted homage to outlaw culture in the '60s, with an ensemble cast that includes Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy
Inspired by Danny Lyon's celebrated black-and-white book of photography, Nichols has ample material to work with. The filmmaker cites 2003 when his younger brother gave him Lyon's book as the root of the landmark project.
The photographer's classic 1968 book saw him follow the Chicago motorcycle gang for several years, documenting their brutal but free lifestyle with a Nikon camera and a seven-pound reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Lyon's 128-page poignant book showcases a subculture of outsiders that most people knew little or nothing about. It's hardly surprising that he influenced and inspired a new generation of photojournalism.
"Danny's photos are an incredible portrait of a complicated subculture," Nichols tells Entertainment Weekly. "The clothes, hair, bikes, faces, and personalities he documented gave me everything I needed to fully portray the people from this time and place. I’m fascinated by the fact that his photos and interviews can be both romantic and unvarnished at the same time. Like motorcycles, they hold a discordance. They’re beautiful and dangerous, appealing and formidable."
Brooklyn
The 2015 romantic period drama film directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby, is based on the much-loved 2009 novel of the same name by Colm Tóibín.
Starring a sensational Saoirse Ronan, the charming love story tells the tale of a young Irish immigrant who has to make an agonising choice between heart and home.
RTÉ's Alan Corr praised Crowley for handling Tóibín's words with care and thoughtfully bringing the page-turner to life on the big screen.
"John Crowley's charming, vivid and tender adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s book is so much more than that. It artfully subverts any charges of shamroguery by telling a gripping story of small lives facing upheaval with all the spirit and craft of a classic American film from the era it captures so very well. It also boasts career-high performances from Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson which are understated and quietly devastating."
Many readers pointed out how the movie skips a lot of the background information provided in the book, while Ellis' brothers are also axed (she only has one sister in the movie). The ending is also completely different - the book ends with Eilis leaving her Irish town, while the movie shows her on the boat, and then back in New York, reuniting with Tony.
Either way, it's safe to say both the book and movie productions earn their merits.
Fight Club
Originally rejected by his publisher for being too graphic, Chuck Palahniuk's debut novel has gained cult status, propelled by a film adaptation by David Fincher starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.
Even though it underperformed financially, the movie, which was released in 1999, acquired cult status and heightened the profile of the novel released two years prior.
The 139-minute movie follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia who finds relief by impersonating a seriously ill person in several support groups. He meets a mysterious man named Tyler Durden and ends up establishing an underground fighting club as radical psychotherapy.
Author Chuck Palahniuk sold his work to publisher W. W. Norton for $6,000 and the film rights were optioned by 20th Century Fox for $10,000. Directors such as Danny Boyle, Peter Jackson and Bryan Singer rejected the original manuscript before David Fincher came on board.
Almost 25 years since its groundbreaking release, the deliciously satirical film continues to spark conversations and amazement, while Palahniuk's novel remains a gripping pageturner.
Laura Delaney and Sarah McIntyre
