This past year has been a huge year for book-to-screen adaptations, with Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights predicted to be the first big box office hit of 2026.
Dubbed as a global phenomenon with no fancy big names or big budget, the on-screen adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry currently ranks as the best book-to-screen adaptation in the past year. There have also been some other huge hits, including Wicked: For Good, Hamnet and a new version of the classic, Frankenstein.
We take a look at five of the best adaptations that are available to watch now – and you won’t want to miss them.
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5 – We Were Liars
We Were Liars was originally a 2014 young-adult novel by E. Lockhart.
The novel has received critical acclaim and won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction.
Since then the book has been adapted into a TV series on Amazon Prime.
The story sees a 17-year-old girl from a wealthy family, Cady Sinclair, who spends her summers on a private island.
After suffering a terrible accident, she struggles to remember events her increasingly frightening past.
The book has a rating of 3.65/5 on Goodreads while the series has an IMDB rating of 6.8/10.
(Image: Amazon Prime)
4 – Hamnet
Hamnet is a 2025 historical drama film directed by Chloé Zhao, who co-wrote the screenplay with Maggie O’Farrell, based on the 2020 novel by O’Farrell.
The film dramatises the family life of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes Hathaway as they cope with the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet.
It has a rating of 4.2/5 on Goodreads and 8/10 on IMDB.
(Image: FOCUS FEATURES LLC)
3 – Wicked For Good
Wicked: For Good (also known as Wicked: Part Two) is a 2025 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and penned by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox.
Serving as the sequel to Wicked (2024), it brings to life the second act of the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which was loosely inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel – a fresh take on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation.
Set in the Land of Oz before and during the events of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the film tracks Elphaba and Glinda as they embrace their new personas as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.
The book has a Goodreads rating of 3.51/5, while the second film is rated 6.7 on IMDB.
(Image: AP)
2 – Frankenstein
Frankenstein is a 2025 American Gothic science fiction drama film produced, written, and directed by Guillermo del Toro.
The screenplay is adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.
The film features Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature, with Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz in supporting roles.
The narrative follows Frankenstein, an arrogant scientist whose ambitious experiment to create life leads to perilous ramifications.
Goodreads users have the book a rating of 3.91/5, while IMDB film fanatics scored it 7.5/10.
(Image: Netflix)
