The Worst-Rated Book-to-Movie Adaptations, According to Rotten Tomatoes

The Golden Compass (Rotten Tomatoes Score 44%)

The 2007 movie adaptation of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman had each the makings of a bully movie: A young big phantasy escapade that readers loved. A stellar formed including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, and Ian McKellen. And a promising debut show from Dakota Blue Richards. But the taxable substance of The Golden Compass and the remainder of the His Dark Materials bid is subversive, confronting analyzable issues similar the hypocrisy of organized religion. The 2007 adaptation scrubbed the movie truthful cleanable of immoderate arguable contented that it besides wholly missed the point. What we ended up with is an adaptation that felt wholly heartless.

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A Wrinkle successful Time (Rotten Tomatoes Score 42%)

In 2018, we were each excited astir the adaptation of Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle successful Time. After all, it was directed by the critically acclaimed manager Ava DuVernay. And the visuals successful each of the previews looked truthful impressive. But the movie itself did not unrecorded up to the hype, nor did it seizure the magic and wonderment of the classical Newbery Medal–winning novel. This 1 was each benignant and nary substance. The publication itself carries a batch of affectional weight, but the movie was conscionable corny.

The Giver (Rotten Tomatoes Score 35%)

In 2014, the movie adaptation of Lois Lowry’s The Giver came retired astatine the process extremity of the YA dystopian adaptation boom. But The Giver is nary Hunger Games. In fact, these are precise wildly antithetic books, and the information that this movie tries to marque The Giver more similar a Hunger Games– oregon Divergent-type story? A immense misstep. And, look, we each had Taylor Swift’s Midnights at the apical of our Spotify Wrapped charts successful 2022. But the popular singer’s quality successful this movie was a immense head-scratcher.

Persuasion (Rotten Tomatoes Score 33%)

Okay, I person to travel clean. 2022’s Persuasion was the existent book-to-film adaptation that inspired this database for me. If it were up to me, this movie would beryllium astatine the apical of this list. This is different 1 of those movies that got a batch of hype, particularly aft the occurrence of Bridgerton and Emma. And yes, I excessively was ace excited to spot Jane Austen’s caller adapted into a movie starring Dakota Johnson and Henry Golding. But wow, this 1 was conscionable a misstep successful truthful galore ways. I privation to blasted the publication due to the fact that it was truly bad. Viewers everyplace cringed astatine lines like, “It’s often said if you‘re a 5 successful London, you’re a 10 successful Bath.” But it wasn’t conscionable the publication (or the information that nary 1 progressive successful this movie knew what the heck to bash with Anne Elliot). This movie looked boring. The sets were uninspired and the costumes looked similar they came retired of my precocious schoolhouse play department’s closet. No shadiness to my precocious schoolhouse play section due to the fact that we were doing the champion with what we had, but travel on, Persuasian had the money. What the heck happened here? This movie astir apt singlehandedly killed Jane Austen adaptations for years to come.

The Lovely Bones (Rotten Tomatoes Score 31%)

Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones was a publication that near maine successful tears erstwhile I work it backmost successful 2002. But Peter Jackson’s 2009 movie adaptation? Yikes. The movie’s biggest misstep is the information that it missed the full constituent of the novel. The Lovely Bones is a reflection connected decease and grief. And yes, it’s told from the position of a young miss looking down astatine her household from heaven. But Peter Jackson indispensable person conscionable heard that this communicative had thing to bash with heaven. His mentation of The Lovely Bones is mode much funny successful imaginations of what that eden mightiness look similar and little funny successful the precise quality communicative that grounded the book. This is different 1 that was each benignant and nary heart.

The Woman successful the Window (Rotten Tomatoes Score 25%)

Before the movie adaptation of The Woman successful the Window hit Netflix successful 2021, we each kinda already knew this 1 was going to beryllium atrocious news, contempt the Amy Adams of it all. First of all, there’s the controversies surrounding the author A.J. Finn. Then there’s the information that this movie was primitively slated to beryllium released successful October 2019…and past proceeded to get delayed implicit and implicit again earlier yet going consecutive to streaming. When the movie yet came out, the finished merchandise felt similar a parody of each of the different home thrillers that had travel retired earlier it. In fact, The Woman successful the Window felt similar specified a parody that erstwhile Netflix released the existent parody The Woman Across the Street from the Girl successful the Window, it really didn’t consciousness immoderate much oregon little absurd than this frighteningly atrocious movie.

Vampire Academy (Rotten Tomatoes Score 17%)

We’re getting to the precise bottommost of the barrel, friends. Vampire Academy was a 2014 phantasy fearfulness drama based connected the YA publication bid of the aforesaid sanction by Richelle Mead. This was movie that was decidedly trying to thrust the question of the Twilight fandom and wholly missed the mark, by a lot. The publication was cringe-worthy. The CGI looked dated, adjacent by 2014 standards. And for a comedy, this movie was truly abbreviated connected existent comic moments. This 1 isn’t adjacent truthful atrocious you tin laughter astatine it. It’s conscionable atrocious bad.

Eragon (Rotten Tomatoes Score 16%)

You would deliberation that a young big phantasy adaptation coming retired successful 2006 would automatically beryllium a runaway hit, right? Wrong. This movie adaptation of Christopher Paolini’s beloved caller was not beloved…by anyone. While we each recognize that movies person to alteration novels astatine slightest a small to accommodate them for the screen, fans of the publication were horrified by however overmuch this deviated from the root material. This is different 1 that besides suffered from unspeakable peculiar effects and atrocious acting. This movie was initially planned to beryllium the archetypal successful a series, but it performed truthful poorly astatine the container bureau that the full movie franchise was canceled. Fans of Eragon are inactive waiting for the movie adaptation this publication deserves.

The Dark Tower (Rotten Tomatoes Score 15%)

Seriously, however bash you messiness this 1 up? The Dark Tower is simply a movie based connected the fan-favorite acheronian sci-fi/fantasy bid by Stephen King. And it stars Idris Elba. This shouldn’t person been hard to marque good. And yet…here we are with a 15% standing connected Rotten Tomatoes. What went wrong? Stephen King himself speculated that a batch of the occupation was insisting that the movie maintained a PG-13 rating, which meant the movie “lost a batch of the toughness” of the books by default. King was besides puzzled by the information that the movie decided to commencement the communicative close successful the mediate of the bid alternatively than astatine the beginning. I person to admit that for me, a spectator who had lone work the archetypal publication successful the Dark Tower series, I recovered that determination to beryllium truly confusing arsenic well. And arsenic overmuch arsenic I emotion seeing Idris Elba connected my screen, the histrion was not capable to prevention this 1 for maine (or anyone else, it seems).

The Scarlet Letter (Rotten Tomatoes Score 13%)

Coming successful astatine the precise bottommost of the Rotten Tomatoes charts is The Scarlet Letter, another movie adaptation that wholly missed the constituent of the archetypal worldly by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This 1995 film, starring Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, and Robert Duvall, took the novel’s analyzable themes of guilt, pistillate independence, societal pressures and dumbed it down into an erotic drama. I mean, conscionable look astatine this movie poster…What? Apparently adjacent Demi Moore called The Scarlet Letter “a precise dense, un-cinematic book.” So I conjecture the filmmakers’ solution was conscionable to…make it sexier? Because erstwhile readers deliberation “Nathaniel Hawthorne,” we each deliberation “sexy,” right? Add successful the over-the-top, cheesy acting and you’ve got yourself a existent victor here.