Biggest Grossing Book Adaptations

6 months ago 14th May 14:45

Adaptations are big business at the cinema whether that be book or comics, which seem to be dominating the box office of late, a trend that looks set to continue, but it's books on the big screen that are in the spotlight this week.

After the box office success, even if it wasn't a hit with the critics, of The Da Vinci Code Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard are back for the second Dan Brown adaptation Angels and Demons.

Set before events of The Da Vinci Code Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church.

He learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. They follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival.

So to celebrate the release of the film FemaleFirst takes a look at the biggest grossing book adaptations.

Harry Potter - $4.48 billion

The Harry Potter film series is the second biggest franchise in movie history, behind James Bond, with the first five movies.

The franchise began back in 2001 and instantly made household names of it's three leading stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. And Philosopher's Stone remains the most successful at the box office.

However the franchise looks set to grow with Half Blood Prince, the penultimate novel, hitting cinemas this summer. But Deathly Hallows will be split into two movies to be released in 2010 and 2011.

The Lord of the Rings - $2.91 billion

Considered the impossible adaptation Peter Jackson silenced the doubters with his trilogy of movies released over three years.

While it was The Fellowship of the Ring that got the ball rolling it was The Two Towers that broke new ground in terms of special effects.

Enter Gollum and the mixture of computer animation and motion capture, which involved actor Andy Serkis in a suit that recorded all of his movement, the character was born.

And Return of the King broke the $1 billion barrier to join Titanic as well as landing the Best Picture Oscar and Best Director for Jackson.

Jurassic Park - $914 million

It's hard to believe that Jurassic Park, an adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel, was released way back in 1993, yes it's almost twenty years.

The film was a box office smash and was, for a time, the biggest grossing movie of all time it's also Steven Spielberg's biggest box office hit.

The movie was a landmark in the use of computer-generated imagery as well as using animatronics. The Jurassic Park franchise was born with two further movies.

The Da Vinci Code - $758 million

The Da Vinci Code novel is what introduced the world to Dan Brown it seemed everyone was reading it, never mind the fact that he had three previous novels.

So it was inevitable that a movie wasn't going to be too far away Tom Hanks took on the role of Robert Langdon reteaming with filmmaker Ron Howard.

Despite mediocre reviews from the critics the film was a massive box office success as fans of the book went to the cinema in droves.

And although it was criticised by the church a sequel is finally here.

The Chronicle of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - $745 million

The success of The Lord of the Rings paved the way for more fantasy novels to make it to the big screen and out of all those that came out of the woodwork The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe has been the more successful.

Based on the novel by C.S Lewis Disney teamed up with Walden Media in 2005. And although there were some well known actors involved in the project, including Tilda Swinton and Liam Neeson, the four Pevensie children were played by unknowns.

Despite the film was a massive hit, going on to scoop an Oscar for make-up, and a sequel was inevitable.

Forrest Gump - $677 million

'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get' it's the role that we all associate with Tom Hanks and was released fifteen years ago in 1994.