20 Terrible Book-To-Movie Adaptations That Disappointed Fans

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Ignacio Weil

Entertainment - May 23rd 2025, 00:03 GMT+2

Cropped Artemis Fowl — Artemis Fowl (2020)

Oh, *Artemis Fowl* — the boy genius who deserved so much better. Eoin Colfer’s wildly popular series gave us a criminal mastermind prodigy tangled in high-tech fairy espionage. The movie gave us... sunglasses, one-liners, and a main character with all the edge of a marshmallow. Disney decided to turn Artemis into a sweet, misunderstood hero, which is sort of like turning Darth Vader into a motivational speaker. Even Judi Dench couldn’t save the day, grumbling her way through lines like “Top of the morning to you” as Commander Root. And poor Josh Gad was saddled with the bizarre task of playing a farting dwarf with a dirt-swallowing mouth. Magical? More like tragical. | © Walt Disney Pictures

Cropped IT Chapter 2 — IT Chapter Two (2019)

The first IT movie had us clutching our childhood trauma and popcorn buckets in equal measure. The sequel? Not so much. While the adult cast — including James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader — looked great on paper, the movie forgot to pack the emotional punch and terrifying nuance that made the first one work. Instead, we got flashbacks, filler, and a very awkward CGI de-aging experiment. Pennywise (played again by Bill Skarsgård) was still creepy, sure, but somehow less menacing when sandwiched between overused jump scares and drawn-out spirit quests. The story stumbled under its own bloated weight, proving that sometimes, nostalgia just can’t float. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped A Wrinkle in Time — A Wrinkle In Time (2018)

With a cast boasting Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling, you’d think *A Wrinkle in Time* would be, at the very least, a cosmic delight. Sadly, what should have been a whimsical, dimension-hopping adventure turned into a confusing, overly glossy visual parade with very little heart. Director Ava DuVernay had a beautiful vision, but it struggled to translate Madeleine L’Engle’s complex themes of science, love, and faith into something coherent. The emotional weight got lost somewhere between the glittery landscapes and baffling dialogue (we're still trying to understand what Mrs. Whatsit was even doing half the time). It was ambitious, yes — but in the way someone tries to bake a galaxy cake on their first day in the kitchen. | © Walt Disney Pictures

Cropped Fahrenheit 451 — Fahrenheit 451 (2018)

Ray Bradbury's classic warning against censorship and conformity was set ablaze — and not in a good way — in HBO’s modernized adaptation. Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon did their best to carry the dystopian weight, but they were fighting against a script that boiled down rich allegory into social media buzzwords and tech-heavy clichés. The firemen of the future now scan emojis and burn hashtags, which sounds cool until you remember that the original novel was about much more than flashy tech and ominous surveillance. What could’ve been a chilling, relevant update became a lukewarm, overly stylized slog. Ironically, it made you want to turn off the screen and read the book — which, maybe, was the point? | © HBO Films

Cropped Ready Player One — Ready Player One (2018)

Steven Spielberg directing a love letter to pop culture should’ve been a slam dunk, right? Instead, *Ready Player One* felt like being stuck in a video game cutscene for two and a half hours. While the visuals were undeniably impressive and the references came fast and furious — from *The Iron Giant* to *Back to the Future* — the heart of Ernest Cline’s book was replaced with a frantic, soulless spectacle. Tye Sheridan did his best as Wade Watts, but the film turned him into a generically likable protagonist surrounded by more digital noise than character development. Olivia Cooke’s Art3mis was slightly better, but still flattened. In the end, it felt less like a celebration of geek culture and more like a corporate mashup reel begging for applause. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped Mortal Engines — Mortal Engines (2018)

When *Mortal Engines* hit the big screen, Peter Jackson (yes, the *Lord of the Rings* mastermind) was behind it, so hopes were high. Unfortunately, this adaptation fell flat, like a giant city trying to roll through the desert on tank treads. The film attempted to bring Philip Reeve’s steampunk epic to life with gigantic moving cities and a cast including Hugo Weaving and a very much "meh" Hera Hilmar as the lead. With a plot that had all the subtlety of a bulldozer, *Mortal Engines* gave us breathtaking visuals but completely ignored the magic of the original's world-building and character depth. The result? A confusing, soulless ride that felt more like an overinflated music video than a well-paced adventure. | © Universal Pictures

Cropped The Dark Tower — The Dark Tower (2017)

Stephen King’s *The Dark Tower* is an epic multiverse-spanning saga — a genre-bending blend of Western, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. So naturally, the movie decided to cram all of that into 95 minutes and call it a day. Idris Elba as Roland and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black were intriguing casting choices, but even their combined star power couldn’t overcome a script that felt like it had commitment issues. The movie tried to serve fans, newcomers, and studio executives all at once — and satisfied none. It wasn’t weird enough for diehard fans, and it wasn’t coherent enough for anyone else. In the end, *The Dark Tower* was less a bold adaptation and more a dusty missed shot. | © Columbia Pictures

Cropped Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children — Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016)

Tim Burton’s quirky touch should’ve been the perfect match for Ransom Riggs' dark, whimsical world of peculiar children. Instead, what we got was a misstep that left fans wondering if Burton had forgotten what made his earlier work so charming. With a cast led by Eva Green as the enigmatic Miss Peregrine and Asa Butterfield as the unsure hero Jake, the film looked stunning but lacked the heart and strange beauty of the original book. Instead of a magical coming-of-age tale, the movie turned into a weird mix of fantasy-action and Burton’s signature "offbeat" style — which, let’s face it, was starting to get a little too on-the-nose. Peculiar? More like plain odd. | © 20th Century Fox

Cropped Divergent — Divergent Movies (2014–2016)

Ah, *Divergent* — the franchise that could’ve been *The Hunger Games* for a new generation. Sadly, it didn’t live up to the hype. The first movie gave us Shailene Woodley as Tris, a fearless heroine who joins the Dauntless faction to fight against the system, but the movie’s attempts at being gritty often felt like the result of a bad Pinterest board. By the time the second and third installments rolled around, audiences had lost interest. The action became repetitive, the plot confused, and the cliffhanger conclusion left everyone wondering if it was even worth the ride. But hey, at least there were a lot of piercing stares and abstract training montages! | © Lionsgate

Cropped The Hobbit — The Hobbit (2012–2014)

Remember when *The Hobbit* was just a lovely little tale about Bilbo Baggins and a band of dwarves on a journey to reclaim a mountain? Yeah, Peter Jackson turned that into three sprawling movies filled with CGI, excessive battle scenes, and way too much dwarven angst. While Martin Freeman made an excellent Bilbo, and we got to see Ian McKellen reprise Gandalf, the rest of the trilogy lost its charm as it expanded and stretched like a wizard’s hat. The once quaint story of a small adventure turned into an overstretched epic — a little like taking one delightful, cozy book and turning it into a three-course buffet where all the dishes are just too much. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped The Giver — The Giver (2014)

Lois Lowry’s *The Giver* gave readers a glimpse into a dystopian society devoid of emotion, color, and freedom — a perfect setting for a thought-provoking film. Unfortunately, the adaptation didn't quite hit the mark. With Jeff Bridges as the mysterious Giver and Brenton Thwaites as Jonas, the plot felt forced and watered down, turning what could’ve been a somber exploration of memory, choice, and love into a forgettable YA flick. The film tried to stay true to the book but missed the subtle, philosophical themes that made the original so impactful. Instead of pondering life's big questions, we were left wondering why everything in this supposedly "colorless" world looked so visually stunning. A dystopia with that much vibrant color? Hard to buy into. | © The Weinstein Company

Cropped The Book Thief — The Book Thief (2013)

Markus Zusak’s *The Book Thief* is a literary gem — poetic, emotional, and narrated by Death himself. The film adaptation? Well, let’s just say it forgot to pack the soul along with the suitcase to Nazi Germany. Sophie Nélisse does her best as Liesel, and Geoffrey Rush brings warmth as Hans, but the movie never quite captures the lyrical magic or gut-wrenching power of the book. It plays it safe, softening the edges of a story that’s supposed to pierce. The result is a film that feels more like a history class assignment than an unforgettable journey through loss, love, and literature. Death may have been the narrator, but even he seemed a bit bored. | © 20th Century Fox

Cropped world war z — World War Z (2013)

If you went into *World War Z* expecting a faithful adaptation of Max Brooks’ brilliant oral history-style novel, surprise! You got Brad Pitt playing a globe-trotting zombie slayer in a completely different plot. The book is a thoughtful, slow-burning geopolitical commentary told through survivor interviews. The movie? A fast-paced action thriller with more product placement than introspection. Sure, Pitt runs well, and the Jerusalem wall scene was cool — but where were the complex perspectives? The haunting aftershocks? The actual *world war*? It’s like ordering a gourmet meal and getting a microwaved snack. | © Paramount Pictures

Cropped Enders Game — Ender’s Game (2013)

Orson Scott Card’s *Ender’s Game* is a sci-fi classic about child soldiers, morality, and manipulation — and somehow, the movie adaptation made it feel like just another forgettable space adventure. Asa Butterfield plays Ender with wide-eyed intensity, and Harrison Ford lends some gruff gravitas as Colonel Graff, but even their talents couldn’t overcome the film’s rushed pacing and oversimplified themes. Gone was the psychological weight and nuanced buildup; in its place, flashy CGI and a final twist that barely had time to land before the credits rolled. It’s a shame, because the source material could’ve carried a powerful trilogy. Instead, we got a single, underwhelming flight. | © Summit Entertainment

Cropped Percy Jackson — Percy Jackson Movies (2010–2013)

Oh, Percy. You deserved better. Rick Riordan’s mythological series is packed with humor, heart, and clever world-building — all of which the movies decided to completely ignore. Logan Lerman was a decent pick for Percy, but aging the characters up and skipping over key plot points made the adaptation feel like a fanfic written by someone who skimmed the CliffNotes. Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth looked the part but missed the snarky brilliance fans adored. Even the gods seemed confused. Riordan himself famously disavowed the films, and honestly, who could blame him? When the author wants to distance himself, you know you’ve summoned the wrong kind of monster. | © 20th Century Fox

Cropped The Mortal Instruments — The Mortal Instruments (2013)

Cassandra Clare’s *The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones* had everything needed for a supernatural hit — demons, secret societies, forbidden love, and a sassy warlock named Magnus Bane. The movie adaptation, however, got tangled up in its own shadow. Lily Collins took on the role of Clary Fray, and Jamie Campbell Bower brought brooding vibes as Jace, but the film tried so hard to cram in the book’s lore that it lost track of pacing, tone, and basic storytelling. Add in awkward dialogue, clunky exposition, and plot twists that hit like a wet sponge, and you’ve got a recipe for teen fantasy fatigue. Honestly, this one should’ve stayed in the Institute. | © Screen Gems

Cropped Cirque Du Freak — Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (2009)

Darren Shan’s *Cirque Du Freak* series is a deliciously dark, clever take on the vampire genre — but the movie adaptation turned it into a gothic carnival of confusion. John C. Reilly gave it his best shot as the vampire Larten Crepsley, but between the inconsistent tone, messy pacing, and shoehorning multiple books into one film, the whole thing felt more like a circus act gone wrong. The weird blend of slapstick comedy and teen angst never quite found its footing. And while it *looked* like it wanted to be quirky, it ended up more "Saturday afternoon rerun" than cult classic. A saga meant to unfold slowly got squished into a single, awkward act. | © Universal Pictures

Cropped Golden Compass — The Golden Compass (2007)

Philip Pullman’s *His Dark Materials* series is rich with philosophical depth, armored bears, and talking daemons. The 2007 movie adaptation, however, stripped away the nuance and went full steam ahead into “Hollywood fantasy mode.” Nicole Kidman looked stunning but icy as Mrs. Coulter, and poor Daniel Craig was largely wasted as Lord Asriel. The studio clearly got cold feet about the book’s anti-authoritarian themes, choosing instead to serve up a watered-down plot and a bizarrely upbeat ending — even though the story was far from over. Despite the stunning visuals and a promising cast, it all felt a bit... hollow. A daemonic disappointment, if you will. | © New Line Cinema

Cropped Tales of Earthsea — Tales Of Earthsea (2006)

Goro Miyazaki had a big legacy to live up to — adapting Ursula K. Le Guin’s beloved *Earthsea* novels *and* being the son of anime legend Hayao Miyazaki. Unfortunately, *Tales of Earthsea* turned out to be more "Tales of Mild Confusion." While Studio Ghibli’s signature animation is undeniably gorgeous, the story felt disjointed, rushed, and oddly bleak. It mashed together plot points from multiple books without fully understanding the emotional or thematic depth behind them. Le Guin herself was less than impressed, and fans of the books were left wondering where all the quiet wisdom and spiritual gravitas had gone. Let’s just say this wasn’t the magic we were looking for. | © Studio Ghibli

Cropped Eragon — Eragon (2006)

Dragons! Magic! A teen destined to save the world! Sounds like a surefire hit, right? Not when it’s *Eragon*, the movie adaptation that took Christopher Paolini’s bestselling novel and stripped it of charm, tension, and — most offensively — good dragon CGI. Edward Speleers tried his best as Eragon, and Jeremy Irons added a dash of weary gravitas as Brom, but no amount of star power could lift this from mediocrity. The plot was rushed, the dialogue was painfully generic, and Saphira, the dragon, looked like a rejected Pokémon with wings. What was supposed to be the beginning of a fantasy franchise became a one-film wonder — and not in the good way. | © 20th Century Fox

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Some books are so beloved that fans eagerly anticipate seeing them come to life on the big screen. Unfortunately, not every adaptation lives up to expectations. Whether due to poor casting, missing plotlines, or complete tonal shifts, some films just miss the mark. In this article, we’re counting down 20 of the worst book-to-movie adaptations that left readers scratching their heads and moviegoers walking out disappointed. From butchered classics to failed franchise starters, these adaptations serve as cautionary tales for Hollywood.

Whether you're a book lover, a movie buff, or just curious which titles made the list, read on to see which adaptations went horribly wrong — and why.

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Whether you're a book lover, a movie buff, or just curious which titles made the list, read on to see which adaptations went horribly wrong — and why.