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2015 – The Year of Book to Movie Adaptations
2015 was a big year for films based on books. So many adaptations hit the silver screen and SO many were phenomenal. In 2015 alone we saw The Martian, The Danish Girl, Macbeth, Fifty Shades of Gray, the final installment of “The Hunger Games” franchise” and SO SO many more movies based on books.
You can check out the full guide below of every English-language film released in the U.S. this year based on a book, play, short story or comic series.
The World Made Straight
Based on the Book : The World Made Straight by Ron Rash
Directed by: David Burris
Starring: Noah Wyle, Jeremy Irvine, Minka Kelly
Description: In a rural Appalachian community haunted by the legacy of a Civil War massacre, a rebellious young man (Jeremy Irvine) struggles to escape the violence that would bind him to the past.
Release Date: January 9th
Mortdecai
Based on the book: Don’t Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli
Directed by: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor
Description: Juggling angry Russians, the British Mi5 and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) races to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain a code that leads to lost Nazi gold.
Release Date: January 23rd
Strange Magic
Based on the play: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Directed by: Gary Rydstrom
Starring: Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood
Description: A forest is turned upside down as goblins, elves, fairies and imps battle over a powerful potion.
Release Date: January 23rd
Wild Card
Based on the book: Heat by William Goldman
Directed by: Simon West
Starring: Jason Statham, Stanley Tucci
Description: Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When his friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to learn the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss.
Release Date: January 30th
Love, Rosie
Based on the book: Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern
Directed by: Christian Ditter
Starring: Lily Collins, Sam Claflin
Description: Rosie (Lily Collins) and Alex (Sam Claflin) have been best friends since they were five, so they couldn’t possibly be right for one another…or could they? When it comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies.
Release Date: February 6th
Seventh Son
Based on the book: The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
Directed by: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander
Description: When the queen of evil witches (Julianne Moore) escapes the pit she was imprisoned in by a professional monster hunter (Jeff Bridges), the hunter recruits young Tom (Ben Barnes), the seventh son of the seventh son, to help him.
Release Date: February 6th
Fifty Shades of Grey
Based on the book: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Directed by: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan
Description: Literature student Anastasia Steele’s (Dakota Johnson) life changes forever when she meets the handsome, yet tormented, billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).
Release Date: February 13th
The Duff
Based on the book: The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Directed by: Ari Sandel
Starring: Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne
Description: A high school senior (Mae Whitman) instigates a social pecking order revolution after finding out that she’s been labeled the “DUFF” (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by her more popular counterparts.
Release Date: February 20th
Still Alice
Based on the book: Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Directed by: Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart
Description: A linguistics professor (Julianne Moore) and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Release Date: February 20th
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken
Based on the book: Kidnapping Freddy Heineken by Peter R. de Vries
Directed by: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Sam Worthington, Jim Sturgess
Description: The inside story of the planning, execution and aftermath of beer tycoon Alfred “Freddy” Heineken’s (Anthony Hopkins) kidnapping, which resulted in the largest ransom ever paid for an individual.
Release Date: March 6th
Cinderella
Based on the fairytale: “Cendrillon” by Charles Perrault
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden
Description: When her father unexpectedly passes away, Ella (Lily James) finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her scheming step-sisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella’s fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.
Release Date: March 13th
The Gunman
Based on the book: The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette
Directed by: Pierre Morel
Starring: Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba
Description: A black ops specialist (Sean Penn) comes out of retirement to take down the organization that betrayed him.
Release Date: March 20th
Insurgent
Based on the book: Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Directed by: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet
Description: Tris (Shailene Woodley) must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against the powerful alliance that threatens to tear her society apart.
Release Date: March 20th
Home
Based on the book: The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
Directed by: Tim Johnson
Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin
Description: An alien (Jim Parsons) on the run from his own people befriends a human girl (Rihanna) and joins her on an adventure.
Release Date: March 27th
Serena
Based on the book: Serena by Ron Rash
Directed by: Susanne Bier
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper
Description: In Depression-era North Carolina, the future of George Pemberton’s (Bradley Cooper) timber empire becomes complicated when he marries Serena (Jennifer Lawrence).
Release Date: March 27th
The Longest Ride
Based on the book: The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
Directed by: George Tillman, Jr.
Starring: Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood
Description: The lives of a young couple intertwine with a much older man as he reflects back on a past love.
Release Date: April 10th
Child 44
Based on the book: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace
Description: A disgraced member of the military police (Tom Hardy) investigates a series of grisly child murders during the Stalin-era Soviet Union.
Release Date: April 17th
True Story
Based on the book: True Storyby Michael Finkel
Directed by: Rupert Goold
Starring: Jonah Hill, James Franco
Description: When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) meets accused killer Christian Longo (James Franco)—who has taken on Finkel’s identity—his investigation morphs into a game of cat-and-mouse.
Release Date: April 17th
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Based on the comic book series: Characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Avengers
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner
Description: When Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to stop the villainous Ultron.
Release Date: May 1st
Every Secret Thing
Based on the book: Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
Directed by: Amy J. Berg
Starring: Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, Dakota Fanning
Description: A detective (Elizabeth Banks) looks to unravel a mystery surrounding missing children, and the prime suspects are two young women who, seven years ago, were put away for an infant’s death.
Release Date: May 15th
Far from the Madding Crowd
Based on the book: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Directed by: Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen
Description: In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) attracts three very different suitors.
Release Date: May 22nd
Jurassic World
Based on: Characters created by Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard
Description: A new theme park is built on the original site of Jurassic Park. Everything is going well until the park’s newest attraction, a genetically modified dinosaur, escapes containment and goes on a killing spree.
Release Date: June 12th
Madame Bovary
Based on the book: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Directed by: Sophie Barthes
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, Ezra Miller, Paul Giamatti
Description: Bored in her marriage to a country doctor and stifled by life in a small town, the restless Emma Bovary (Mia Wasikowska) pursues her dreams of passion and excitement, whatever they may cost.
Release Date: June 12th
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Based on the book: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler
Description: High schooler Greg (Thomas Mann), who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Release Date: July 1st
Ant-Man
Based on the comic book series: Characters created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby in Ant-Man
Directed by: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly
Description: Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor pull off a heist that will save the world.
Release Date: July 17th
Mr. Holmes
Based on the book: A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin
Directed by: Bill Condon
Starring: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney
Description: An aged, retired Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) deals with early dementia as he tries to remember his final case.
Release Date: July 24th
Paper Towns
Based on the book: Paper Towns by John Green
Directed by: Jake Schreier
Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne
Description: After an all-night adventure, Quentin’s (Nat Wolff) life-long crush disappears, leaving behind clues for Quentin and his friends to follow.
Release Date: July 24th
Dark Places
Based on the book: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Directed by: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Starring: Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Christina Hendricks
Description: Libby Day (Charlize Theron) was only eight years old when her family was brutally murdered in their rural Kansas farmhouse. Almost 30 years later, she reluctantly agrees to revisit the crime and uncovers the wrenching truths that led to that tragic night.
Release Date: August 7th
Fantastic Four
Based on the comic book series: Characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four
Directed by: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Tell, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell
Description: Four young outsiders teleport to an alternate universe that alters their physical form in shocking ways. They must learn to harness their new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Release Date: August 7th
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Based on the book: The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner
Directed by: Marielle Heller
Starring: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Kristen Wiig
Description: A teen artist (Bel Powley) living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother’s boyfriend.
Release Date: August 28th
Z for Zachariah
Based on the book: Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien
Directed by: Craig Zobel
Starring: Margot Robbie, Chris Pine, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Description: In the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization, two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally charged love triangle as the last known survivors.
Release Date: August 28th
A Walk in the Woods
Based on the book: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Directed by: Ken Kwapis
Starring: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson
Description: After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) returns to the U.S., where he decides to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.
Release Date: September 2nd
90 Minutes in Heaven
Based on the book: 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
Directed by: Michael Polish
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Kate Bosworth
Description: A man involved in a horrific car crash is pronounced dead, only to come back to life 90 minutes later claiming to have seen Heaven.
Release Date: September 11th
Black Mass
Based on the book: Black Massby Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill
Directed by: Scott Cooper
Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch
Description: The true story of Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.
Release Date: September 18th
Captive
Based on the book: Unlikely Angel by Ashley Smith
Directed by: Jerry Jameson
Starring: David Oyelowo, Kate Mara
Description: A single mother (Kate Mara) struggling with drug addiction is taken hostage in her own apartment by a man on the run who has broken out of jail and murdered the judge assigned to his case.
Release Date: September 18th
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Based on the book: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Directed by: Wes Ball
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Description: After having escaped the Maze, the Gladers now face a new set of challenges on the open roads of a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles.
Release Date: September 18th
The Martian
Based on the book: The Martian by Andy Weir
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean
Description: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to contact Earth.
Release Date: October 2nd
Pan
Based on the fairytale: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Directed by: Joe Wright
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Rooney Mara, Levi Miller
Description: Twelve-year-old orphan Peter (Levi Miller) is spirited away to the magical world of Neverland, where he ultimately discovers his destiny: to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.
Release Date: October 9th
The Walk
Based on the novel: To Reach the Clouds by Philippe Petit
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale
Description: In 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.
Release Date: October 9th
Beasts of No Nation
Based on the book: Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Starring: Idris Elba, Kurt Egyiawan, Abraham Attah
Description: Agu (Abraham Attah), a child soldier, is forced to fight in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Release Date: October 16th
Goosebumps
Based on the book: Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
Directed by: Rob Letterman
Starring: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush
Description: A teenager (Dylan Minnette) teams up with the daughter of young adult horror author R. L. Stine after the writer’s imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware.
Release Date: October 16th
Steve Jobs
Based on the biography: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogan, Jeff Daniels
Description: A look behind the scenes of the digital revolution, revealing a portrait of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender).
Release Date: October 23rd
Truth
Based on the book: Truth and Duty by Mary Mapes
Directed by: James Vanderbilt
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid
Description: A newsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS60 Minutes report investigating then-President George W. Bush’s military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) their careers.
Release Date: October 30th
Miss You Already
Based on the book: Goodbye by Morwenna Banks
Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Toni Collette, Drew Barrymore
Description: The friendship between two life-long girlfriends is put to the test when one starts a family and the other falls ill.
Release Date: November 6th
The Peanuts Movie
Based on the comic strip: Peanuts created by Charles M. Shulz,
Directed by: Steve Martino
Starring: Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Alex Garfin
Description: Snoopy embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their arch-nemesis, while his best pal Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) begins his own epic quest to win the love of his life.
Release Date: November 6th
Spectre
Based on: Characters created in the book series by Ian Fleming
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes
Description: A cryptic message from James Bond’s (Daniel Craig) past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization.
Release Date: November 6th
The 33
Based on the autobiography: Deep Down Dark by Héctor Tobar
Directed by: Patricia Riggen
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche
Description: The true story of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days after their mine collapsed.
Release Date: November 13th
My All-American
Based on the book: Courage Beyond the Game by Jim Dent
Directed by: Angelo Pizzo
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Robin Tunney, Sarah Bolger
Description: Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock), an underdog on the gridiron, faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.
Release Date: November 13th
Carol
Based on the book: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Description: In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk (Rooney Mara) who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Release Date: November 20th
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Based on the book: Mockingjayby Suzanne Collins
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson
Description: As the war of Panem escalates, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) leads an army against President Snow to free the Districts.
Release Date: November 20th
Legend
Based on the biography: The Profession of Violence by John Pearson
Directed by: Brian Helgeland
Starring: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis
Description: The true story of identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray (both played by Tom Hardy) and their organized crime empire in 1960s London.
Release Date: November 20th
The Secret in Their Eyes
Based on the book: The Secret in Their Eyes by Eduardo Sacheri
Directed by: Billy Ray
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts
Description: A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
Release Date: November 20th
Brooklyn
Based on: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Directed by: John Crowley
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson
Description: An Irish immigrant (Saoirse Ronan) lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a new romance. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.
Release Date: November 25th
Room
Based on the book: Room by Emma Donoghue
Directed by: Lenny Abrahamson
Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay
Description: After five-year-old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his mother (Brie Larson) escape from the enclosed “Room” that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery.
Release Date: November 25th
Trumbo
Based on: Dalton Trumbo by Bruce Cook
Directed by: Jay Roach
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Hellen Mirren
Description: In 1947, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was Hollywood’s top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Release Date: November 25th
Victor Frankenstein
Based on the book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Directed by: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy
Description: Told from Igor’s (Daniel Radcliffe) perspective, we witness the troubled young assistant’s dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein (James McAvoy) and the story of how Frankenstein became the man—and the legend—we know today.
Release Date: November 25th
In the Heart of the Sea
Based on: In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy
Description: A recounting of a New England whaling ship’s sinking by a giant whale in 1820, an experience that later inspired the novel Moby-Dick.
Release Date: December 11th
Macbeth
Based on the play: Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Directed by: Justin Kurzel
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard
Description: Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Release Date: December 11th
45 Years
Based on the book: “In Another Country” by David Constantine
Directed by: Andrew Haigh
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay
Description: In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, a couple receive an unexpected letter that contains potentially life-changing news.
Release Date: December 23rd
The Big Short
Based on the book: The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Description: After predicting the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, four outsiders in the world of high-finance decide to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed.
Release Date: December 23rd
Concussion
Based on the book and article: Concussionby Jeanne Marie Laskas (the book is an expansion of Laskas’ article “Game Brain” forGQ)
Directed by: Peter Landesman
Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Description: In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Release Date: December 25th
The Danish Girl
Based on the book: The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander
Description: A fictitious love story inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Release Date: December 25th
The Revenant
Based on the book: The Revenant by Michael Punke
Directed by: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson
Description: After being brutally mauled by a bear and left for dead, frontiersman Hugh Glass seeks revenge on those who wronged him.
Release Date: December 25th (limited release)
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