Books to Movies 2022
The 15 Biggest Book-to-Movie Adaptations of 2022 and Where to Stream Them
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For moviegoers who love literary adaptations, 2022 was a very good year. There is something inexplicably special about seeing the story and characters you've imagined and built up in your head for so long physically play out on the big screen in front of you, and some classic novels, newly minted bestsellers, and gripping nonfiction books became movies in 2022. From an adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" to a film version of "Where the Crawdads Sing," this year saw lots of films make the leap from page to screen.
As streaming services continue to create more and more exciting TV shows and films, it makes sense that they'd turn to novels and nonfiction books for inspiration. This year, we got the new series "Heartstopper," based on the graphic novels of the same name, on Netflix. That streamer also gave us another season of "Bridgerton," with the third, based on another of Julia Quinn's novels, coming in 2023. On Hulu, viewers watched the limited series "Under the Banner of Heaven," an adaptation of the bestselling nonfiction book, and "Kindred," based on Octavia E. Butler's novel of the same name. Unfortunately, some 2022 movies we were looking forward to were moved to next year, like the new Disney+ adaptation of "Peter Pan," but that just means there'll be more to love down the road.
Ahead, revisit some of our favorite book-to-movie adaptations from 2022, and find out where to watch them right now.
1 "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie
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- What it's about: Detective Poirot's vacation is interrupted by a murder on a luxury cruise on the Nile River. Poirot must solve the mystery, but first he has to figure out what his fellow vacationers are hiding.
- Who's starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Russell Brand, Sophie Okonedo, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, and Ali Fazal
- Read "Death on the Nile"
- Release date: Feb. 11; watch it on HBO Max now.
2 "Deep Water" by Patricia Highsmith
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- What it's about: A couple in a loveless marriage agree to an arrangement, allowing the wife to have affairs in order to avoid a messy divorce. When the husband grows jealous, deadly psychological mind games ensue.
- Who's starring: Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas
- Read "Deep Water"
- Release date: March 18; watch it on Hulu now.
3 "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
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- What it's about: Kya Clark, the "Marsh Girl," grows up alone and is something of a local legend in 1960s North Carolina. When a local celebrity turns up dead, Mya is the prime suspect, but there's much more to her story than anyone knows.
- Who's starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, David Strathairn, and Jayson Warner Smith
- Read "Where the Crawdads Sing"
- Release date: June 24; watch it on Netflix now.
4 "The Black Phone" by Joe Hill
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- What it's about: Finney Shaw is a young boy who is kidnapped by a serial killer. While imprisoned in a soundproof basement, he finds a strange telephone that conveys the voices of the killer's previous victims, who each try to help him escape.
- Who's starring: Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and James Ransone
- Read "The Black Phone" in "20th Century Ghosts"
- Release date: June 24; watch it on Peacock now.
5 "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" by Paul Gallico
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- What it's about: In 1950s London, a cleaning lady discovers a Dior dress in the home of one of her clients. Falling in love with fashion, she saves up enough to head to Paris and pursue her dreams.
- Who's starring: Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, and Rose Williams
- Read "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris"
- Release date: July 15; watch it on Peacock now.
6 "Persuasion" by Jane Austen
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- What it's about: Anne Elliot is the overlooked middle daughter of a proud family falling on hard times. At the worst possible time, she crosses paths again with Captain Frederick Wentworth, her first love, who she was convinced to reject years ago.
- Who's starring: Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding, Suki Waterhouse, Richard E. Grant, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ben Bailey Smith, Izuka Hoyle, Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Nia Towle
- Read "Persuasion"
- Release date: July 15; watch it on Netflix now.
7 "Bullet Train" by Kotaro Isaka
Image Source: Amazon
- What's it about: This dark action-thriller follows the story of five of the most deadly and highly trained assassins who all end up on the same train. Though they all have different targets, the looming question of why they are all on the same train and who is going to make it out alive hooks readers until the very end.
- Who's starring: Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Joey King, Bad Bunny, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Andrew Koji, Logan Lerman, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, and Hiroyuki Sanada
- Read "Bullet Train"
- Release date: July 29; watch it on Netflix now.
8 "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates
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- What's it about: This historical-fiction novel chronicles the inner, more private parts of American actor and model Marilyn Monroe. It delves into the glitz and glamour but also the deeper, darker secrets.
- Who's starring: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Sara Paxton, and Bobby Cannavale
- Read "Blonde"
- Release date: Sept. 23; watch it on Netflix now.
9 "The School For Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani
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- What it's about: In a world of twisted fairy tales, best friends Sophie and Agatha are sure of where they'll be placed at the School For Good and Evil. When their fortunes are shockingly reversed, they struggle to preserve their friendship and find their way home again.
- Who's starring: Sofia Wylie, Sophia Anne Caruso, Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, Laurence Fishburne, Kit Young, Ben Kingsley, Rachel Bloom, and Patti LuPone
- Read "The School For Good and Evil"
- Release date: Oct. 18; watch it on Netflix now.
10 "The Stars at Noon" by Denis Johnson
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- What it's about: In 1984 Nicaragua, revolution puts everyone in danger. An enigmatic British businessman and a strong-willed American journalist fall in love but are forced to quickly rely on each other to survive and escape the country.
- Who's starring: Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley
- Read "The Stars at Noon"
- Release date: Oct. 14; watch "The Stars at Noon" on Hulu now.
11 "My Policeman" by Bethan Roberts
Image Source: Amazon
- What it's about: This romance novel set in 1950s Brighton, England, tells the story of Tom, Patrick, and Marion. Tom and Marion are a couple, and Marion is deeply in love with Tom. But when Tom meets a man named Patrick, the two fall in love. At the time, it is much safer for Tom and Marion to marry, meaning the three of them must share this love — and deep secret — among themselves.
- Who's starring: Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, and David Dawson
- Read "My Policeman"
- Release date: Oct. 21; watch it on Prime Video now.
12 "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque
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- What it's about: Paul Bäumer and his classmates enlist in the German army during World War I, certain that it will be a quick and glorious war. As the true horrors of the first modern war set in, Paul vows that he will spend his life fighting against the kind of hate that starts wars — if he makes it out alive.
- Who's starring: Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Sebastian Hülk, Felix Kammerer, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, and Devid Striesow
- Read "All Quiet on the Western Front"
- Release date: Oct. 28; watch it now on Netflix.
13 "The Wonder" by Emma Donoghue
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- What it's about: In "The Wonder," Lib Wright, a young nurse, arrives in rural Ireland to see an 11-year-old girl named Anna whose family claims she never eats and lives off of "manna from heaven." As people flock to see what they believe to be a miracle, Lib tries to uncover the truth in order to keep young Anna alive.
- Who's starring: Florence Pugh, Ciarán Hinds, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Toby Jones, and Niamh Algar
- Read "The Wonder"
- Release date: Nov. 4; watch it now on Netflix.
14 "She Said" by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
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- What it's about: The nonfiction story traces how Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, two New York Times reporters, broke the Harvey Weinstein story and sent shockwaves through the entire entertainment industry.
- Who's starring: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Samantha Morton, Tom Pelphrey, and Adam Shapiro
- Read "She Said"
- Release date: Nov. 18
15 "White Noise" by Don DeLillo
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- What it's about: Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler studies; his wife, Babette; and their four children have their lives turned upside down when a horrifying train accident sends chemical waste spreading over their town.
- Who's starring: Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver, Raffey Cassidy, Jodie Turner-Smith, Don Cheadle, André Benjamin, May Nivola, and Sam Nivola
- Read "White Noise"
- Release date: Dec. 30 on Netflix
