Some of Hollywood’s biggest movie franchises are thanks to hit novels that developed a die-hard fanbase. Among the many that became box office successes and sold millions of copies, only one novel was ranked as having been the best movie adaptation of a novel.
J.R.R. Tolkien‘s “The Lord of the Rings” took the No. 1 spot in a list by Goodreads where readers voted on the “best movie adaptations of popular novels.” The hit fantasy novel released in 1959 may not have been a shocker, with the movie franchise having sparked an entire pop culture craze and fandom to match the novels.
The epic high fantasy novel was created as a sequel to Tolkien’s 1937 children’s book “The Hobbit” and is tagged as one of the best-selling books ever written. Its title is in reference to the book’s main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who created the One Ring who would “rule them all” as the Rings of Power were given to men, dwarves, and elves. The crux of the novel’s story begins in the Shire, a hobbit land where the hobbit Frodo comes into possession of the ring.
He, alongside his devoted friends,Sam, Merry, and Pippin venture across Middle-earth with the help of the wizard Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, the elf Legolas, and the dwarf Gimli to destroy the ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Along the way, they formed the Company of the Ring with the mission to fight against Sauron’s army.
“The Lord of the Rings” is generally known as a trilogy consisting of three volumes: “The Fellowship of the Ring” (1954), “The Two Towers” (1954), and “The Return of the King” (1955). In 2001, director Peter Jackson brought Tolkien’s popular novels to life with the fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It starred Elijah Wood as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn,Sean Astin as Sam, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, and many more.
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The movies were considered one of the most ambitious film projects as all three film installments were shot simultaneously in New Zealand from 1199 until 2000. The Lord of the Rings quickly became known as the greatest and most influential film series ever made, with the first installment having made over $897 million worldwide. Overall, all three films grossed $2.964 billion at the box office. It also won 17 Oscars over the span of its movie releases.
It resonating and long-lasting success is one of the biggest novel and movie fandoms, and even led to a prequel series titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and the live-action The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Goodreads’ list also includes none other than J.K. Rowling‘s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, and “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo.