No one can deny the excitement that comes from seeing your favorite book come to life on the big screen. Book lovers can attest to the euphoria that comes from waiting to see your favorite plots and characters, that lived only in your head, finally becoming something visually concrete. However, while some book-to-movie adaptations are huge successes, keeping the integrity of both the beloved storyline and characters, many fail to hold up. Let’s take a look at the best and worst adaptations according to their ratings.
Best: Harry Potter eight-film series
One of the best and one of the first major young adult book series to be adapted to film is the eight-movie series, Harry Potter. Dubbed a worldwide success that led to theme park worlds, spin-off movies and even plays, the Harry Potter films took viewers into the wizarding world where they could experience the magic themselves. On Rotten Tomatoes, not one movie was rated below 78 percent. The lowest rating of the bunch was for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The highest rating, 96 percent, was for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The exceptional adaptations of these movies are also reflected in their IMDb ratings. The lowest rating is 7.4/10 for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. While the highest rating, 8.1/10, is for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. These ratings, without a doubt, prove that the Harry Potter franchise is one of the most successful book-to-movie adaptations to exist.
Worst: Paper Towns
Following the success of the film adaptation of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, viewers had high hopes for Paper Towns. Unfortunately, this is one example of a movie not living up to the hype of the book. Many viewers were left feeling as though the movie left out much of the charm and excitement that the plot and characters within the book had. With a rating of only 58 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 6.2/10 on IMDb, it’s clear that this book-to-movie adaptation did not win over those who were looking for the same heartfelt feelings that came when reading the book.
Best: Little Women (2019)
Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women was great for many reasons. For one thing, the talented and stacked cast of big-name actors played a huge part, including Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson and Laura Dern, to name a few. But this movie also captured the essence of a feel-good success movie with hardship, loss and love all wrapped into one, while also keeping the integrity of Louisa May Alcott’s original story. Rotten Tomatoes gave Little Women a rating of 98 percent, while IMDb’s rating came in at 7.8/10, clearly displaying the successful reception that many people had for this movie.
Worst: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
While the Percy Jackson and The Olympians books may be having their redemption arc with Disney’s new television series in the works, the movies certainly did not do it any justice. Flopping horribly at the box office, many viewers were upset with the creative liberties the movie took with the books. With the cast being four years older than the characters in the books and rushing through or downright ignoring many pivotal scenes, it’s no surprise that the ratings reflect the viewer’s dissatisfaction. The first installment, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, received a rating of 49 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 5.8/10 on IMDb. While the second installment, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, came in at 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.7/10 on IMDb. Percy Jackson fans everywhere can only hope that Disney’s TV series do not make the same mistakes as the movies.
Best: The Hunger Games four-movie series
The Hunger Games series, one of the best in the young adult dystopian genre, not only had a lot of excitement upon the initial release of the movies, but it is also experiencing a revival in interest currently. While the first movie, The Hunger Games, had a great reception from audiences with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 84 percent and a rating of 7.2/10 on IMDb. The second movie, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, surpassed those scores. Viewers on Rotten Tomatoes gave Catching Fire a score of 90 percent, and IMDb rates it a 7.5/10. The last two movies, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, didn’t score as well as their predecessors, but with respective ratings of 69 percent and 70 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.6/10 and 6.7/10 on IMDb, they still fared well.
While seeing your favorite books on the big screen is always a treat, whether they are a great adaptation or a not-so-great one, it begs the question: is the book always better than the movie? The answer to that question, of course, is subjective, and there may never be a sound answer that everyone can agree on. But one thing is for certain, book-to-movie adaptations bring together communities of book lovers and give them a chance to see their favorite characters and plots come off the page.
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