Many students tend to skip their assigned reading assignments. Don't fret, as there is likely a movie based on the book. Book to film adaptations are usually for people who have previously read the book and are curious how the story would be portrayed on the big screen.
Rarely, a film adaptation is better than the original work. There are a few exceptions - for example, The Princess Bride and Stand By Me. There are countless film adaptations that have performed poorly on screen.
10 The Time Traveler’s Wife Is Not Your Typical Romance Movie Plot
2003's The Time Traveler's Wife is a romance novel with science fiction themes by Audrey Niffenegger. The novel was adapted into a film starring former-Hulk Eric Bana, and teen movie star Rachel McAdams. The Time Traveler's Wife was released in 2009, and was postponed a year due to reshoots.
Bana stars Henry DeTamble, a librarian with a medical condition that allows him to time travel. DeTamble falls in love with McAdams' characters, Clare Abshire. That cliché alone makes Time Traveler's Wife slightly cringe-inducing. This resulted in mixed reviews among critics, but Time Traveler's Wife didn't perform too badly.
9 Paper Towns Had Major Differences Between The Film And The Novel
Everyone remembers the immense popularity of John Green's novels among young adult readers. Especially from the popular, yet tear-jerking, film adaptation of The Fault In Our Stars. Another novel of Green's, Paper Towns, didn't receive the same praise when it was turned into a film.
While not a terrible film, viewers criticized it for not being entirely faithful to the novel. “Yes, the Paper Towns movie is like the book but also, you know, it isn't," comments Green in an interview with Time.
8 The Girl On The Train Contains Mystery Novel Clichés
The Girl On The Train is a 2015 best-selling mystery novel by Paula Hawkins, which was adapted into a film in 2016. Emily Blunt stars as Rachel Watson, an alcoholic divorcee who winds up entangled in a missing person investigation.
The plotline and themes of The Girl On The Train is similar to another mystery book adaptation, Gone Girl. The film adaptation of The Girl On The Train received mixed reviews from critics for its overdone clichés and lack of suspense in comparison to the novel.
7 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Childen Film Switched Around Important Details
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is a fantasy novel by Ransom Riggs, which released in 2011. An eponymous film adaptation by Tim Burton released in 2016. Miss Peregrine's features familiar acting names like Asa Butterfield and Judi Dench. Viewers criticized Miss Peregrine's for not following the original plotline of the novel.
The ages and powers of the children were different from the source material. Due to Burton's expertise, Miss Peregrine's was visually pleasing, but received mixed reviews for too much focus on visual effects and little on narrative.
6 The Book Thief Film Doesn't Compare To The Success Of The Novel
The Book Thief is a 2005 World War II era novel by Markus Zusak, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The successful book was adapted into an eponymous film released in 2013. The film and novel follow the life of Liesel Meminger, who lives with her adoptive German family.
Liesel sneaks books into her home and shares them with Max, the Jewish man Liesel's family is sheltering. While the great John Williams composed the musical score, The Book Thief received mixed reviews for its confusing narrative.
5 The Giver Had A Random Taylor Swift Cameo
Many school curriculums included reading Lois Lowry's The Giver. To some, it is actually an enjoyable book. To others, The Giver just didn't make sense. The 2014 film adaptation made even less sense, as it only scratched the surface of the themes present in the original work. In the film, Jonas, the main protagonist, has aged up a couple of years. Unlike the book, he pursues a romance with Fiona. Viewers criticized The Giver's rushed plotline, and the random cameo of Taylor Swift just made things more confusing.
4 Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief Is Riordan's Work Down The Drain
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan is another childhood favorite about a teenager who finds out he has a mythological bloodline. Logan Lermans plays the title character of Percy Jackson in the two film adaptations produced from the source material.
It proves that the book to film adaptations were disastrous, when the author himself comments on them without ever seeing them. Riordan tweeted, "My life's work going through a meat grinder" and "They should just censor the whole thing. Just two hours of blank screen," in regards to Disney+ censoring a part of The Lightning Thief.
3 Mortal Instruments Film Was Incredily Confusing To Viewers
Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series was highly successful among fantasy novel readers. The source material from the first novel, City Of Bones, was adapted into a film and released in 2013. Lily Collins stars as the main protagonist, Clary Fray, and Jamie Campbell Bower plays her love interest, Jace Wayland.
There was a planned sequel, City Of Ashes, which is based on the second novel, but was canceled due to the poor performance of The Mortal Instruments. Also, Freeform aired Shadowhunters, a spin-off series for three seasons. However, the adaptation to the screen just confused viewers and lacked originality.
2 Divergent Series: Allegiant Was So Bad The Second Part Was Canceled
Fans of the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth should be familiar with the shocking ending of Allegiant, which made readers re-read what just happened. The film adaptation of the final book, Allegiant, is also shocking, but in a bad way. It received a jaw-dropping 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ascendant was planned to be released in theaters as the second part of Allegiant, but it was canceled due to the financial failure of the first part. The spin-off television series was also canceled, which ended Roth's franchise.
1 A Wrinkle In Time Was A Disaster
A Wrinkle In Time is a 1962 fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle. The book was adapted into a 2003 television film by Disney. The second adaptation, in 2018, takes the cake for the worst book to film adaptation of all time. A Wrinkle In Time features dominant names in the industry, like Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey.
Unfortunately, A Wrinkle in Time was a box office failure and lost over $100 million. A Wrinkle In Time promotes diversity, but lacked an easy-to-follow plotline based on the novel. It also overcompensated with CGI.