2026 will be a fun-filled year for both book nerds and film buffs, with some of the most fascinating literary works from past and present best-selling authors coming to life.
Romance, dystopia, science fiction, psychological thriller – the film industry undoubtedly has a lot in store for next year.
Arranged from earliest to latest, based on their premiere dates in the United States, here are five of the most talked about book-to-film adaptations coming to cinema and streaming platforms in 2026.
People We Meet on Vacation (January 9)
Just in time for holiday hangover is a romantic comedy based on Emily Henry’s 2021 novel about two childhood best friends, Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen, who traditionally come together for a week-long vacation every summer, until a trip to Croatia caused them to stop speaking for two years.
With only memories of their comedic and wild adventures, the two reunite at a family wedding, where rekindled connection and unsurprising romance narrow the distance between them.
Starring Tom Blyth and Emily Brader, this Netflix-produced adaptation presents a not-so-typical contemporary friends-to-lovers lore, one that makes you laugh, cry and value family and friendships even more.
For the full experience, you may want to start reading the book now and tune in to Netflix in January for the film – what a nice way to start the year off!
Wuthering Heights (February 13)
From one love story to another, the 1847 novel by Emily Bronte has for decades inspired several cinematic works, and the upcoming film starring breakout leading man Jacob Elordi and Australia’s pride Margo Robbie is garnering huge interest.
Set in the early 1800s, this tale is about the turbulent love affair between the reserved and high-born woman Catherine Earnshaw and an orphan, Heathcliff, who runs a remote moorland farmhouse called Wuthering Heights.
When Catheine marries Edgar Linton (played by Shazad Latif) for social status, Heathcliff turns vengeful and spends years plotting against the two aristocratic families.
In him, we see love turn into obsession, cruelty and madness – an enthralling rendition of a man written by a woman.
Next year’s Valentine’s Day will surely be an exciting one with this classic and dark romance showing in theatres.
Project Hail Mary (March 20)
From classic, to futuristic.
Space-related fiction may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but surely many will not miss Ryan Gosling’s return to the big screen as he portrays a high school science teacher and former biologist named Ryland Grace, who wakes up in a spaceship with no memories of his past.
Turns out he is humanity’s last hope to solve a solar-dimming crisis caused by alien microbes called “Astrophage”.
Based on Andy Weir’s award-winning 2021 novel, “Project Hail Mary” explores the themes of survival, alliance and the possibility of extraterrestrial beings.
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Verity (October 2)
Coleen Hoover has done it again, with two of her best-selling novels reaching the cinema next year, one being the psychological thriller “Verity,” a tale of unsettling past and a tense battle for truth.
The narrative centres on struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, to be played by Dakota Johson, who is hired to ghostwrite and complete an unfinished best-selling book series originally done by Verity Crawford, to be played by Ann Hathaway, who has suffered an accident.
Lowen’s access to Verity’s works leads her to discover an unfinished manuscript that reveals disturbing details about the latter’s past and horrifying claims about her family, sparking a strenuous fact-finding quest, entailed with deception and survival.
Published in 2018, “Verity” represents a departure from Hoover’s other works which are typically hard-hitting contemporary romance.
It will join “It Ends With Us” and “Regretting You” in becoming a motion picture, along with “Reminders of Him”, premiering in March.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (November 20)
The best has been saved for last.
The movie adaptations of “The Hunger Games” trilogy and its first prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, all written by Suzzane Collins, were hits at the box office and fans believe the upcoming extension to the franchise will be just as good.
2025-published “Sunrise on the Reaping” tells the story of 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, to be played by Joseph Zada, who is among the District 12’s tributes for the 50th Hunger Games, an annual fight-to-death tournament organised by the Capitol, the centre of a dystopian world called Panem.
But it is not really about whether Haymitch wins the game or not, but rather on how he wins it, and what happens next.
The significance of another “The Hunger Games” prequel in today’s time cannot be overemphasised, as the gap between Panem and the real world seemingly blurring, with blatant oppression of freedom and abusive leaders existing in both.
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