These are the top 25 highest grossing movies based on books

Hollywood loves a book adaptation movie. Even better, a franchise of them.

Book adaptations have grown significantly in popularity since the 1990s, which represented roughly 8% of major studio releases at the time. Today, they account for 70% of top-grossing films in theaters, according to 2024 data.

Using data from Box Office Mojo, Business Insider compiled the 25 highest-grossing book adaptations, including children's novels, biographies, and other literary works, at the worldwide box office.

We did not include comic-book or stage adaptations, and the figures are not adjusted for inflation.

Eight films crossed the $1 billion threshold, and fantasy franchises like "Harry Potter," "The Lord of the Rings," and "Twilight" dominated, while two adaptations from Academy Award-winning director Christopher Nolan also made the list.

25. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

C.S. Lewis's children's novel made its way to the screen after decades of interest in adaptation.

Suzanne Collins' third "Hunger Games" book was split into two films, with Part 1 ending when Katniss sees Peeta after his Capitol appearances.

The adaptation of Dan Brown's novel premiered at Cannes and arrived amid controversy over its religious-conspiracy storyline.

The film sent its audience through real art, symbols, and European landmarks, though much of the historical premise is fictional.

Alfonso Cuarón took over as director of the Harry Potter franchise for the third movie and gave the series a darker visual and thematic style.

"Catching Fire" opened to $158.1 million in North America, then the biggest November opening weekend ever.