The Golden Compass
Over the last couple of years we have seen young adult adaptations soar, with the likes of Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga, and The Hunger Games all enjoying big box office success.
2014 is no different with the likes of The Fault In Our Stars, The Maze Runner, and Vampire Academy are just some of the other films on the horizon.
However, these adaptations don't always enjoy big success expected, and we take a look at some of the films that failed to set the box office alight.
- The Golden Compass (2007)
The Golden Compass hit the big screen in 2007 and was the first of Philip Pullman's novels to be adapted into a film.
The Golden Compass was based on Northern Lights and looked set to kick off another fantasy-adventure franchise.
Chris Weitz was in the director's chair, while Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Ian McKellen, and Dakota Blue Richards were all on board.
The movie had a budget of $180 million, and while it made just over $372 million by the end of its theatrical release, it was not the huge hit expected.
Pullman's original novel is famed for its anti-religious elements, and the movie underwent alterations to tone these down in the film.
Without the controversy and the real bite that is in the original material, The Golden Compass ended up being a movie that just looked nice.
A major opportunity to bring these complex and interesting books to the big screen was lost. Needless to say, the other two books were not adapted. Shame!!
- Eragon (2006)
Eragon is the first book in the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini, and was adapted for the big screen in 2006.
Peter Buchman penned the screenplay, while Stefen Fangmeier was in the director's chair: this movie marked his feature film directorial debut.
The movie follows Eragon, who discovers he is the last Dragon Rider, and it is his destiny to protect the world from an evil king.
The main problem with Eragon is that is lacked any real spark - not to mention it really is desperately dull.
Eragon could have been a terrific fantastic story about dragons and demons, and sadly, it ended up a very damp squid.
Eragon did make back its $100 million budget - going on to take over $247 million - but it really failed to gain any praise or support.
- Inkheart (2008)
Inkheart really is a terrific read, and is the first book in Cornelia Funke's Inkheart trilogy. In 2008, this very popular novel was given the big screen treatment.
I really hate it when film adaptations only take bits and pieces of novels and make up the rest - it results in the film being a bit of an incoherent mess..., which is what happened here.
Unfortunately, Inkheart - which was directed by Iain Softley and adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire - fails to capture any of the charm and excitement of the novel.
Inkheart never really gets off the ground - a talented cast of Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Paul Bettany, and Helen Mirren never get anything to truly get their teeth into.
The story and the character are all just a little bit flimsy, and the movie never really engages. If I were you, I would give the film a miss and check out the series of books.
As well as failing to win over the critics, the movie struggled at the box office: it was made for $60 million but took just $62.4 million when released.
- Beautiful Creatures (2013)
2013 was a bumper year for adult fiction adaptations, and Beautiful Creatures was just one of the movies that really failed to capture the imagination of the cinema going public.
The movie was based on the book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and saw Richard LaGravenese in the director's chair.
To say that this story plods along is a bit of an understatement - nothing really happens that will grab your interest. It really tries to follow in the footsteps of Twilight, rather than trying to find an identity for itself.
Much like Inkheart, Beautiful Creatures brings together a great cast - Alice Englert, Viola Davis, Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and Emmy Rossum are all on board - but then doesn't really show them off in the best possible light.
With a $60 million budget, the film only just pulled that back as it took $60,052 at the box office.
- Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (2006)
Anthony Horowitz has created one of the most famous young adult heroes with Alex Rider in The Power of Five series.
In 2006, Alex Rider came to the big screen as Geoffrey Sax directed Alex Rider: Stormbreaker.
The movie marked the feature film debut for Alex Pettyfer - he took on the title role - as he starred alongside Mickey Rourke, Ewan McGregor, and Bill Nighy.
There is so much great talent in this film, and it is really sad to see it all go to waste.
Horowitz's books are back with wry humour, but that has been replaced by silliness that will do nothing more than bore kids to death.
It only took $23.9 million at the box office, and as a result, no more movies have been made.
- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
One of the YA films that I was looking forward to last year was The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - the books really are terrific.
The movie is an adaptation of the Cassandra Clare novel of the same name, and is the first in a soon to be six book series.
Directed by Harald Zwart, the movie saw Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lena Headley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers all star.
I have to say, I wasn't as unpleasant about this movie as many. The first book is quite complex with a lot of backstory to cram in.
The book plunges readers into a world of Shadowhunters, angels, demons, witches, warlocks, werewolves and vampires, and yet that fantasy world never really comes to life.
Despite a big promotional drive, the film took just $90 million at the box office - however, it did recoup its $60 million budget.
The second movie City of Ashes was put on hold, but it now looks set to go ahead. I think that this franchise does deserve another film, as it could be a really great series.
Other young adult books that didn't quite work on screen include Percy Jackson, I Am Number Four, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, and The Spiderwick Chronicles.