From Popular Novel To Hollywood Blockbuster

21st July 2015

INSURGENT is the film adaption of the second successful novel in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. To celebrate the home entertainment release we look at the other popular novels that have been made into successful feature films or franchises.

INSURGENT is available to download in digital HD on the 21^st July and Blu-ray and DVD from 3^rd August 2015, courtesy of Entertainment One.

Harry Potter

The seven part book series written by J.K. Rowling had huge success both in book stores and at the box office. The first book was published in 1997 and just four years later, was made into a fantasy film starring Daniel Radcliffe as the titular character. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone grossed $974,755,371 worldwide; this started a franchise of seven further films, all of which smashed box office records and spawned lucrative merchandise. The films continued to have as much success as the books with the second part of Deathly Hallows smashing box office records and winning accolades a plenty when released. In the opening weekend the film raked in almost $500m (£310m) worldwide in its first few days.

The Hunger Games

The first part of the young adult trilogy was published in 2008, by American author Suzanne Collins. Like the Divergent series, The Hunger Games are also set in a futuristic dystopian America divided into 12 sectors. Heroin Katniss Everdeen, must try and fight to the death in the televised Hunger Games as she is pit against young members from the other sectors for the amusement of ‘The Capitol.’ The film starring Jennifer Lawrence shows how Katniss must also deal with ‘normal’ teenage issues such as a budding relationship with her fellow Hunger Games contestant, Peeta Mellark. The films so far, have grossed $1,169,814,624 worldwide at the box office.

The Twilight Saga

Stephenie Meyer’s four part series drew fanatics from all over the world. Young adults and tweens everywhere fell in love with vampire, Edward Cullen, and werewolf Jacob Black – desperate to know which one Bella Swan would chose. The series has sold over 120 million copies worldwide and spent over 235 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children’s Series Books. The books were swiftly made into films, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner in the lead roles as Bella, Edward and Jacob respectively. The films were all hugely successful, with the final film racking up $340.9M at the box office worldwide.

The Chronicles Of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia are the oldest book series on this list. First published in 1950, this seven part book series was one of C.S. Lewis’ greatest accomplishments. Despite being over 60 years old, these books are still loved by children today. In 2005 Disney took on the feat of making the principal book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe into a fantasy blockbuster. The fantastic family film saw Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Peter (William Moseley) and Susan venture through the wardrobe into Narnia where they meet the mighty Aslan voiced by Liam Neeson. It went on to make $745,013,115 at the box office.

The Lord Of The Rings

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien saw the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, published in 1954, which means it took 47 years to be made into a hit film as it didn’t jump onto our screens until 2001. Elijah Wood took on the role of the intrepid little Hobbit, Frodo who embarks on an epic journey to destroy a dangerous ring. Grossing almost $3billion worldwide, the trilogy turned out to be so successful that director Peter Jackson went on to make three further films based on Tolkien’s prequel, The Hobbit.

The Divergent Series

Veronica Roth’s smashing dystopian series has impressed critics around the world; Divergent was her debut novel and didn’t fail to land fans. The 2011 original instalment is set in a futuristic Chicago which has fallen to ruins through war and corruption. A modern society is set up in which members are placed into different factions based on personality traits; Dauntless, Amity, Abnegation, Candor and Erudite. The story follows former Abnegation member Tris who decides to leave her family and become Dauntless. Tris however has a secret, she breaks the mould as she does not fit into just one category; she is ‘Divergent.’ The film starring Shailene Woodley see’s her trying to hide her secret from the formidable Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) who despises the ‘Divergents,’ considering them to be abominations. The action packed sequel, Insurgent, sees Tris fight against the Erudites as she tries to save her friends and family, this second instalment took $275,893,892 worldwide. If you haven’t seen it yet, you could own it this summer on digital download, DVD or Blu-ray.

INSURGENT is out on Digital DOWNLOAD on the 21^st July and Blu-ray and DVD from 3^rd August 2015, courtesy of Entertainment One

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