Books
Book-to-screen adaptations have produced some of the biggest films of the last 10 years — you're thinking of major blockbuster series like Harry Potter and Hunger Games of course, but there are also standalones like blockbuster smash-hit Crazy Rich Asians, and wildly popular streaming films like To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Dumplin', both on Netflix. Now is definitely the time for books to break free from the pages and find their way onto screens everywhere, and 2019 has no shortage of new books-turned-films to get excited about.
Below are 15 upcoming releases, premiering both in theaters and online streaming, that reimagine books ranging from classics (Agatha Christie and Louisa May Alcott), young-adult (Five Feet Apart and The Sun Is Also a Star), and so much more. Whether you love a good mystery, a tearjerker contemporary, or a dramatic historical fiction, you've got your pick of stories to sink your teeth into. Catch up with all the books before you head out to theaters or snuggle up on the couch to check these new films and series out this year. They might just become the biggest pop culture moments of the year ahead... and you definitely don't want to miss that.
'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman
Series Premiere Date: Early 2019 (Amazon Prime)
The angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley try to sabotage the coming of the end times, having grown accustomed to their comfortable surroundings in England.
'The ABC Murders' by Agatha Christie
Series Release Date: Feb. 1 (Amazon Prime)
Hercule Poirot must race against time to stop serial killer known as “A.B.C."
'The Knife Of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness
Movie Release Date: March 1
Twelve-year-old Todd Hewitt runs away from Prentisstown, an all-male town where everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts, after learning a secret about its past.
'The Aftermath' by Rhidian Brook
Movie Release Date: March 15
In post-war Germany, Rachael Morgan arrives in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis, a British colonel charged with rebuilding Hamberg. There she is stunned to discover that they will be sharing a house with a German widower and his troubled daughter.
'Five Feet Apart' by Rachael Lippincott
Movie Release Date: March 15
Stella Grant and Will Newman are both being treated for cystic fibrosis when they meet in fall in love. There's just one problem: they must stay five feet apart at all times.
'Where'd You Go Bernadette?' by Maria Semple
Movie Release Date: March 22
When her anxiety-ridden mother disappears, 15-year-old Bee teams up with her father to track Bernadette down, and discovers some of her mother's secrets in the process.
'The Best of Enemies' by Osha Gray Davidson
Movie Release Date: April 5
Civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against KKK leader C.P. Ellis, over school integration in 1971 Durham, North Carolina.
'Pet Sematary' by Stephen King
Movie Release Date: April 5
Dr. Louis Creed discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near his family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall, unleashing an unfathomable evil.
'The Sun Is Also a Star' by Nicola Yoon (In Theaters)
Movie Release Date: May 17
Daniel, the son of Korean shopkeepers, and Natasha, whose family is here illegally from Jamaica, cross paths in New York City on an eventful day in their lives and fall in love.
'The Woman In The Window' by AJ Finn
Movie Release Date: Oct. 4
Anna Fox is a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day spying on her neighbors, including the "perfect" Russell family. But one night Anna sees something she shouldn’t, and shocking secrets are laid bare.
'The Rhythm Section' by Mark Burnell
Movie Release Date: Nov. 22
Stephanie Patrick discovers that the plane crash that killed her family may not have been an accident, and she sets in motion a revenge plot against those responsible.
'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' by T. S. Eliot
Movie Release Date: Dec. 20
Over a single night, a tribe of cats called the Jellicles make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. This musical-comedy was the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway show, Cats.
'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott
Movie Release Date: Dec. 25
The coming-of-age story of the four March sisters, who are growing up in Massachusetts during the American Civil War.
'All The Bright Places' by Jennifer Niven
Movie Release Date: 2019 TBD (Netflix)
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school — six stories above the ground — it's unclear who saves whom. They team up on a class project to discover the "natural wonders" of their state, learning more about each other in the process.
'The Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt
Movie Release Date: 2019 TBD
Thirteen-year-old Theo Decker miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Tormented by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting.
