2014 is full of film adaptations of classic and beloved books, like "The Fault in Our Stars," which arrives June 6. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort star in this adaptation of John Green's best-selling young adult novel, about two cancer patients who fall in love. Although the film has a romantic center, this tale has a decidedly un-saccharine edge. Click through to see what other books are arriving as movies in theaters this year.
"A Long Way Down" (June 5 online; July 11 in select theaters): Nick Hornby's darkly comic novel is brought to life by Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnan and Toni Collette. The story follows four people who all choose to end their life on the same night and find each other at the top of a London building.
"The Hundred-Foot Journey" (August 8): Helen Mirren stars as eccentric French chef Madame Mallory, who competes with an Indian family that opens a restaurant close by. Oprah Winfrey produces.
"The Giver" (August 15): This story shows us what it's like in a dystopian future with no pain and no color. The movie stars Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Alexander Skarsgard and even Taylor Swift.
"If I Stay" (August 22): Chloe Grace Moretz and Jamie Blackley star in this adaptation of Gayle Forman's novel. Moretz plays Mia, a talented musician who finds herself struggling with the choice of life or death after a tragic accident.
"Dark Places" (September 1): Two of Author Gillian Flynn's books are being turned into movies this year. The first, "Dark Places," stars Charlize Theron and is based on Flynn's novel about a woman who survives the murder of her family when she was a child.
"This is Where I Leave You" (September 12): This ensemble featuring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Rose Byrne and Adam Driver tells of four combative siblings who reunite to fulfill their father's dying wish. Expect this group to bring the black comedy.
"The Maze Runner" (September 19): Another dystopian young adult novel that has been compared to "The Hunger Games," "The Maze Runner" stars mostly unknown actors grappling with what they are doing in a giant labyrinth and trying to escape its clutches.
"The Boxtrolls" (September 26): The creative team behind "Coraline" and "ParaNorman" have adapted Alan Snow's colorful children's book "Here Be Monsters!" for the big screen.
"Gone Girl" (October 3): This highly anticipated adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as troubled couple Nick and Amy Dunne. Their problems escalate when Amy disappears and Nick is the prime suspect. The book has a surprising ending; the film may not.
"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (October 10): The screen adaptation of the 1972 book stars Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner as the parents of 11-year-old Alexander. You may have figured out by the title that things aren't going so well for him, but that doesn't stop the laughs from coming.
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1": (November 21) The Big Kahuna. The penultimate installment of the epic "Hunger Games" franchise. The first half of the conclusion to the series finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) reeling from the events at the Quarter Quell and out for revenge. Get 'em, girl!
"Wild" (December 5): Writer Cheryl Strayed's harrowing physical and emotional journey on the Pacific Crest Trail is captured through a performance from Reese Witherspoon.
"Unbroken" (December 25): Angelina Jolie directs this adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's best-seller "Unbroken," which tells the powerful story of WWII POW Louis Zamperini. The Coen brothers wrote the screenplay.
- "Fault In Our Stars" earned $48.2 million its first weekend
- "Maleficent" came in at No. 2
- Tom Cruise's sci-fi flick "Edge of Tomorrow" faltered and opened at No. 3
(EW) -- Cue the faux-surprise. Female-targeted films "A Fault in Our Stars" and "Maleficent" wiped the floor with the competition, forcing Tom Cruise's more teenage boy-friendly "Edge of Tomorrow" into a third-spot opening.
Women made up a staggering 82 percent of the opening-weekend audience for the adaptation of John Green's YA novel about teenage cancer patients -- comparatively, "Twilight's" initial audience was only 75 percent female. The film made $48.2 million, vaulting it alongside "Love Story" in the firmament of emotionally and financially resonant weepies. That's less than the $56 million "Divergent" made its first three days out, but that other Shailene Woodley-starring YA adaptation cost a whole lot more.
Of course, "Fault's" success will probably level out in the coming weeks once the film's steadfast fanbase decides that their eighth bawl-filled screening is enough. (It was a 52 percent drop from Friday to Saturday alone.) But even considering just this weekend, the adaptation is an unqualified success for Fox and stands as more not-quite-shocking evidence that when you target movies at a demographic that's typically underserved -- particularly in the summer months -- you can reap pretty big dividends. Especially when that demographic represents half of the world's population.
'The Fault in Our Stars': Are those tears of joy, critics?
Another female-driven success, "Maleficent," dropped only 52 percent to snag second place with $33.5 million. With a two-week total of $127.4 million, the film is lagging behind other CG-heavy Disney reboots like "Alice in Wonderland" and "Oz: The Great and Powerful," both of which featured "Maleficent" director Robert Stromberg as their production designer. But with a strong international gross and still yet to open in the major Asian markets, the Jolie-starring fairy tale looks to be headed for a more-than-comfy global total somewhere in the half-a-billion range.
Despite good reviews and Cruise's 100-watt smirk, the sci-fi action flick "Edge of Tomorrow" disappointed with $29.1 million, $8 million less than the similarly packaged "Oblivion" did last year. Directed by Doug Liman, the film stars Cruise as a PR flunkey-turned-soldier who finds himself rebooting every time he dies. But even if Cruise can't outsprint a pair of young cancer victims to the top of the U.S. box office, he can still flex his Hollywood appeal overseas where "Edge" took the No. 1 spot with a much healthier $82 million.
'Edge of Tomorrow': A new day for Tom Cruise?
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" raked in another $14.7 million to make its total $189.1 million. In a superhero super-brawl, this means that "X-Men" will almost definitely end up making more than "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," but it'll have to work pretty hard to top "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
Meanwhile Seth MacFarlane's "A Million Ways to Die in the West" continues to flounder after it had a hard time getting its gun out of the holster its first weekend. There were tumbleweeds in the movie theaters this week too, and its second-weekend gross of $7.2 million brings its total to a meager $30.1 million. It appears there isn't much gold in them thar hills.
1. "The Fault in Our Stars" — $48.2 million
2. "Maleficent" — $33.5 million
3. "Edge of Tomorrow" — $29.1 million
4. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" — $14.7 million
5. "A Million Ways to Die in the West" — $7.2 million
See the original story on EW.com.
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