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Books Being Made Into Movies 2019

39 Massively Popular Books Becoming Movies This Year

Nov 19 2019

Hollywood loves to find inspiration in a good book, and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon. The 2019 slate of movies has been full of some of the most gripping stories from the most popular novels and memoirs being adapted for the big screen. That means it's time to finally dig into titles like Call of the Wild and A Million Little Things, because they'll be headed to a theatre near you soon. A good portion of these adaptations have already been released, but there are still a few to come. Take a look!

— Additional reporting by Lauren Harano

1. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

  • What it's about: An agoraphobic New Yorker spends her time watching her neighbours until she sees more than she expected.
  • Who's starring:Amy Adams stars as Anna Fox. The cast also includes Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, and Wyatt Russell.
  • Read The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.
  • Release date: Oct. 4 (US), May 15, 2020 (UK)

2. It by Stephen King

  • What it's about: In the second chapter of It, the now adult Losers Club find themselves drawn back to their creepy hometown to face their fears once and for all.
  • Who's starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Isaiah Mustafa, and Bill Skarsgård.
  • Read It by Stephen King.
  • Release date: Sept. 6

3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

  • What it's about: Artemis is a master thief who will do anything to find his father, including kidnapping the fairy LEPrecon officer Holly Short.
  • Who's starring: Ferdia Shaw, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, and more.
  • Read Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
  • Release date: Aug. 9

4. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

  • What it's about: When her mysterious mother goes missing, 15-year-old Bee goes on a journey to find her and discover the secrets of Bernadette's past.
  • Who's starring: Cate Blanchett, Emma Nelson, Kristen Wiig, and Judy Greer.
  • Read Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.
  • Release date:Aug. 16

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5. Pet Sematary by Stephen King

6. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

  • What it's about: After his mother is killed during a bombing, a young boy is given a home by a wealthy Upper East Side family.
  • Who's starring: Ansel Elgort, Sarah Paulson, Nicole Kidman, Luke Wilson, and more.
  • Read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.
  • Release date: Sept. 27

7. A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

8. Three Seconds by Roslund and Hellstrom

9. The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell

  • What it's about: After a plane crash kills her family, a woman goes on a revenge mission against the people responsible for the tragedy.
  • Who's starring: Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown, and more.
  • Read The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell.
  • Release date: Jan. 31

10. After by Anna Todd

  • What it's about: A girl falls hard with a guy who is harbouring a dark secret.
  • Who's starring: Selma Blair, Jennifer Beals, Josephine Langford, and Dylan Arnold.
  • Read After by Anna Todd.
  • Release date: April 12

11. The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook

12. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

13. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

14. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

  • What it's about: This live-action/CGI animated hybrid film will tell the classic tale of a sled dog's quest or survival.
  • Who's starring: Karen Gillan, Dan Stevens, and Harrison Ford.
  • Read The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
  • Release date: Dec. 25 (US), Feb. 21, 2020 (UK)

15. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

  • What it's about: Two sisters who are living in France at the beginning of World War II have their lives forever changed in dramatically different ways.
  • Who's starring: The cast has yet to be set.
  • Read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
  • Release date: Nov. 29

16. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

  • What it's about: A genetics professor with Asperger's Syndrome goes on a journey to help a young woman named Rosie find her biological father.
  • Who's starring: Ryan Reynolds is rumoured to be attached.
  • Read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
  • Release date: April 4

17. The Dirt by Mötley Crüe

  • What it's about: An autobiography of the notorious rock group's rise to international success.
  • Who's starring: Douglas Booth, Iwan Rheon, Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly), and Daniel Webber.
  • Watch the trailer for The Dirt.
  • Read The Dirt.
  • Release date: March 22

18. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

  • What it's about: Two teens suffering from cystic fibrosis find comfort in one another, but in order to stay safe they have to keep at least six feet of distance between them at all times.
  • Who's starring: Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson.
  • Watch the trailer for Five Feet Apart.
  • Read Five Feet Apart.
  • Release date: Mar. 22

19. The Best of Enemies by Osha Gray Davidson

  • What it's about: The true story of the friendship between Ann Atwater, a single black mother, and C. P. Ellis, a Ku Klux Klan member, in 1960s-era North Carolina.
  • Who's starring: Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, and Wes Bentley.
  • Watch the trailer for The Best of Enemies.
  • Read The Best of Enemies.
  • Release date: Apr. 5

20. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

  • What it's about: Two sisters who live a secluded life in their family home have their world rocked by the arrival of a suspicious cousin. If you liked The Haunting of Hill House, put this on your list — it's written by the same author.
  • Who's starring: Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, and Sebastian Stan.
  • Watch the trailer for We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
  • Read We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
  • Release date: May 17

21. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

  • What it's about: A group of small-town teens pay a visit to a mansion that's home to a collection of terrifying stories. Unfortunately for them, the stories turn out to be all too real.
  • Who's starring: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, and more.
  • Watch the trailer for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
  • Read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
  • Release date: Aug. 23

22. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

  • What it's about: Doctor Sleep is King's followup to The Shining. The story follows the adult Dan Torrance as he meets a young girl who possesses an even more powerful gift than his own.
  • Who's starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Emily Alyn Lind.
  • Read Doctor Sleep.
  • Release date: Oct. 31

23. The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle

  • What it's about: An ageing conman sees an opportunity to pull off his final con when he meets a wealthy woman, but she's not exactly as she seems.
  • Who's starring: Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen.
  • Read The Good Liar.
  • Release date: Nov. 8

24. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

  • What it's about: The book that served as inspiration for the iconic Broadway production Cats is now becoming a film as well. Essentially it revolves around a tribe of cats known as the "Jellicles" who make a major decision about the life and death of one of their own.
  • Who's starring: Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden.
  • Read Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot.
  • Release date: Dec. 20

25. The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones

  • What it's about: Lucy moves to Tokyo to escape her checkered past and soon strikes up an intense friendship with another expat in the city, Lily, who goes missing. Is Lucy responsible? And how does her obsessive boyfriend factor into things?
  • Who's starring: Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough.
  • Read The Earthquake Bird.
  • Release date: Nov. 1

26. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet by Joanne Proulx

  • What it's about: When Luke foresees the death of his best friend, he starts being dubbed as "The Prophet of Death," and ultimately the freak of his entire town.
  • Who's starring: Cameron Monaghan, Grayson Gabriel, Peyton List, and Juliette Lewis
  • Watch the trailer for Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet.
  • Read Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet.
  • Release date: Jan. 11
Image Source: amazon.com

27. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

  • What it's about: Based on a true story, this film depicts the life of William Kamkwamba, a 13-year-old Malawian boy who teaches himself how to build a windmill to save his community from starvation.
  • Who's starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, and Lily Banda
  • Watch the trailer for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
  • Read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
  • Release date: Jan. 25
Image Source: amazon.com

28. Native Son by Richard Wright

  • What it's about: Written in the 1940s, this book follows a young Black boy whose life spirals after he kills a white woman. With social commentary intertwined, Native Son is extremely eye-opening.
  • Who's starring: Ashton Sanders, Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, KiKi Layne, Bill Camp, and Sanaa Lathan
  • Watch the trailer for Native Son.
  • Read Native Son.
  • Release date: April 6
Image Source: amazon.com

29. The Kitchen by Ollie Masters

  • What it's about: In this crime film, three wives of mob members (Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss) decide to partake in criminal work after their husbands are sent to prison for being involved with the mob.
  • Who's starring: Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson, James Badge Dale, Brian d'Arcy James, Jeremy Bobb, Margo Martindale, and Bill Camp
  • Watch the trailer for The Kitchen.
  • Read The Kitchen.
  • Release date: Sept. 20
Image Source: amazon.com

30. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Image Source: amazon.com

31. Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

  • What it's about: This suspenseful novel follows Lionel Essrog, an orphan who works for a detective agency in Brooklyn run by neighbourhood mobster Frank Minna. When Frank gets murdered, Lionel must take his place and ultimately inherit his power.
  • Who's starring: Edward Norton stars as Lionel; the cast also includes Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Alec Baldwin, and Willem Dafoe
  • Watch the trailer for Motherless Brooklyn.
  • Read Motherless Brooklyn.
  • Release date: Dec. 6
Image Source: amazon.com

32. The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War by Marcia and Thomas Mitchell

  • What it's about: Renamed Official Secrets for the big screen, this intense political movie is about the trial of British whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked information to the media about an illegal operation that was put in place to influence the beginning of the Iraq war.
  • Who's starring: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Adam Bakri, Indira Varma, and Ralph Fiennes
  • Watch the trailer for Official Secrets.
  • Read The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War.
  • Release date: Oct. 10
Image Source: amazon.com

33. I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt

  • What it's about: An epic crime film, Netflix adapted I Heard You Paint Houses into The Irishman, which tells the story of how a truck driver by the name of Frank Sheeran became a hitman for a mob and got intertwined with things he never saw coming.
  • Who's starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, with Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jesse Plemons, and Harvey Keitel
  • Watch the trailer for The Irishman.
  • Read I Heard You Paint Houses.
  • Release date: Nov. 8
Image Source: amazon.com

34. The Visible Filth by Nathan Ballingrud

  • What it's about: The film has been retitled Wounds, and follows a New Orleans bartender who begins to experience bizarre things after picking up a phone left at his bar.
  • Who's starring: Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, and Zazie Beetz
  • Watch the trailer for Wounds.
  • Read The Visible Filth.
  • Release date: Oct. 18
Image Source: amazon.com

35. Caging Skies by Christine Leunens

  • What it's about: This World War II satire, renamed JoJo Rabbit for the big screen, follows a young German boy training to be a Nazi whose world is turned upside down when he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic.
  • Who's starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, and Taika Waititi
  • Watch the trailer for JoJo Rabbit.
  • Read Caging Skies.
  • Release date: Oct. 18 (US), Jan. 3, 2020 (UK)
Image Source: amazon.com

36. Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault

  • What it's about: The sequel to the 2014 movie Maleficent, this dark fantasy renamed Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, explores the villain's life and her relationship with her goddaughter Aurora.
  • Who's starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville
  • Watch the trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
  • Read Sleeping Beauty.
  • Release date: Oct. 18
Image Source: amazon.com

37. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

Image Source: amazon.com

38. The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion

  • What it's about: This thriller has a political spin that involves a journalist who leaves her job to care for her father. She ends up taking over her father's position in the government and becomes the new arms dealer for the US Government in Central America.
  • Who's starring: Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, Ben Affleck, Toby Jones, and Rosie Perez
  • Read The Last Thing He Wanted.
  • Original release date: 2019
  • Delayed to: Jan 1, 2020
Image Source: amazon.com

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