The 10 Best Netflix Movies Based on Books, Ranked

Published Oct 29, 2026, 7:12 PM EDT Malasha is an obsessive television and movie watcher. She uses social media to discuss her favorite TV shows, movies, actors, directors, and writers with the 3 people that will acknowlege her latest hyperfixation. She loves to read and can say that she was a pilates girl before it was cool. She has been writing about television and interviewing actors since 2018. Netflix has a wide range of movies on its platform that allows subscribers to seek out the perfect genre movie or one that agrees with their mood at that particular moment. Book adaptations have become more popular, and Netflix has taken the opportunity to obtain a good range of those movies that have been made from books. From romance novels to sci-fi fantasy series, the range of novels adapted into movies has continued to grow. Not every book is meant to be made into a movie, but when it is done well and with intention, it has the ability to be a good film. A good movie adapted from a book should not only improve the writing but make those characters the reader pictured come to life in the best way possible. A book adaptation can be fun and exactly like the novel or have some twists along the way. No matter the route the director and writers take, they should always be able to deliver that initial message the book sought to bring out. 10 'Dumplin'' (2018) Image via Netflix Dumplin' portrays the story of a plus-sized teenage girl who joins a pageant that her mom had previously won in her youth. Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald), or "Dumplin'" as her mother, Rosie (Jennifer Aniston), calls her, joins this beauty pageant as a way to rebel against what it represents. Rosie was the former beauty queen of the small Texas town's pageant and wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps. The film follows Willowdean and her mother's relationship as they disagree about the pageant's purpose. Willowdean's rebellion intrigues the other pageant participants, and they join her. This movie is a story about growth, body image, and embracing oneself in the midst of a world that wants to rely on looks to determine if someone is beautiful or not. Audiences will feel empowered by the notion of digging deeper than surface-level beauty to find out what it really means to be a beauty queen. Macdonald and Aniston give exceptional performances that show off their chemistry as a mother and daughter struggling to understand each other. Secrets come to light and revelations arise, but the story of Dumplin' is adapted beautifully from the novel. 9 'Nappily Ever After' (2018) Image via Netflix This romantic comedy centers around Violet Jones (Sanaa Lathan), a businesswoman whose hair has shaped her personality and given her a certain kind of confidence her whole life. When she isn't proposed to by her boyfriend, Clint (Ricky Whittle), Violet decides she needs a change and cuts away from the thing that has been holding her back the most. Through this, she discovers self-love and romance based on her true self and needs in life. Nappily Ever After, based on the book of the same name, reflects on the ways the Black community and those around them view long straight hair. The movie doesn't have an unpredictable plot, but it portrays the book well; and, with Sanaa Lathan as the lead, she brings her own appeal to the character of Violet Jones. A journey of discovery provides the audience with a good love story that spans across many avenues, like family, friendship, and self. 8 'The Noel Diary' (2022) Image via Netflix The Noel Diary is a heartwarming Christmas story about the meaning of family and the journey of hope and love. Rachel (Barrett Doss) and Jake (Justin Hartley) meet inside the home of Jake's estranged mother's estate after her death. Rachel is searching for her mother, while Jake is searching for answers about his mother's history after finding a diary full of secrets. The mutual need to find answers brings the two closer together, as they seek to find answers during the winter holiday season. This movie gives a holiday spirit ambiance that, if a viewer reads the novel, they will be able to feel all the sparkles and butterflies that it brings with it. While The Noel Diary isn't the most cinematic film to watch, it is a perfect holiday movie that has the happy ending every viewer wants to see. Sitting by the fire on a cold winter's night, this movie is the perfect fix for a hopeless romantic who loves to see people finding the answers they've always wanted and unexpectedly finding love along the way. Hartley and Doss are a beautiful pair to watch throughout the film 7 'Beasts of No Nation' (2015) Image via Netflix Agu (Abraham Attah) is only a child when he is forced to become a child soldier in an unnamed African country. His Commandant (Idris Elba) is a brutal man whom Agu fears but also wants to survive in the environment he has been thrust into. Agu becomes one of the soldiers closest to the Commandant, and it shows a side of him that has to battle with navigating through. This is the way of a child soldier who does what needs to be done to live. This is a strategically crafted film and makes audiences pause before moving away from the screen. Beasts of No Nation allows audiences to see the cruelty of ways that children get warped into spaces not meant for them when under the command of an adult. It's a story about destruction with haunting scenes. With lines like Attah's when he says, "I just want to be happy in life," and an incomparable performance from Elba, this film does not disappoint. 6 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' (2018) Image via Netflix Juliet Ashton (Lily James) is a writer who yearns to have a bigger story to write about. She begins a correspondence with Dawsey (Michiel Huisman) as they discuss the book club he's part of, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Juliet becomes so intrigued that she decides to write a book about the group and travels to Guernsey Island to hear about their lives following World War II. Throughout her time there, she finds out the secrets of those she has become acquainted with, while also finding love. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society sheds light on stories of WWII and also provides a mystery to figure out hidden within the context. It has unexpected twists but maintains a touching plot that audiences can love. A period drama filled with stories and an ensemble cast that makes viewers feel as if they have been enthralled by this world. It is a lovely watch, and Lily James shines as Juliet Ashton. Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner. 🧢Dustin(Stranger Things) 🗼Emily(Emily in Paris) 🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday) 🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game) FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND → 01 How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it. AWe got loud about the same obsession and never stopped. BThey invited me somewhere before we had properly met. CWe bonded over disliking exactly the same thing. DThey noticed I was struggling and stayed with me. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours. AA ridiculous plan neither of us should attempt. BSomewhere new, photographed heavily, ending very late. CSomewhere quiet, few people, zero small talk. DSomething simple, and a conversation that actually matters. NEXT QUESTION → 03 You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it. AThey are already putting their shoes on. BThey answer instantly and turn it into a plan. CThey answer and say something unflattering and true. DThey listen for an hour and never check the time. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected. ASupport first. We can review the mistake later. BA relentlessly positive reframe of the entire disaster. CThe blunt version. Do not soften it for me. DPatience, and no judgment about how I got here. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are. AI am all in, always, about everything. BI can turn almost any situation into a good time. CI say the thing nobody else in the room will. DI look after whoever is having the worst day. NEXT QUESTION → 06 You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks. ALoudly, briefly, then back to normal by Tuesday. BThey apologise first, enthusiastically, with a gift. CCold silence, then one dry joke that fixes everything. DWe talk until we both understand what actually happened. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap. ATo make my life bigger than it would be alone. BTo push me out of the house and into my own life. CTo catch me when I start lying to myself. DTo be the person who never gave up on me. NEXT QUESTION → 08 Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get. AWe would still drop everything for each other, instantly. BWe still make plans, and we still actually go. CWe still cut through each other's nonsense in one sentence. DThey stood by me once when it cost them something. REVEAL MY BEST FRIEND → The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like. Dustin HendersonYou do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan. Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind. You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it. He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds. You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet. Emily CooperYou are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves. Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels. You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else. She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts. She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo. Wednesday AddamsYou have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list. Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount. You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else. Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring. Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you. Seong Gi-hunYou look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend. Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself. You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving. He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage. He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' (2018) Image via Netflix To All the Boys I've Loved Before is about Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), an Asian American teenager who unexpectedly and unconventionally falls in love with Peter (Noah Centineo). Upon release, the movie shined when it hit Netflix, as audiences were excited to see the Jenny Han adaptation. To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a coming-of-age romantic comedy about a girl who propositions a classmate to date her after one of her old love letters gets exposed. Lara Jean is one of those characters that will always have viewers rooting for her success and happiness. To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a rom-com filled with fake-dating and "she fell first, but he fell harder" tropes. It's a movie that will bring laughs, joy, and sadness to audiences' faces, but will give them the feel-good ending that makes it a long-lasting hit. This was at the start of the resurgence of cute rom-coms and preceded two additional movies based on the novel series as well. 4 'Leave the World Behind' (2023) Image via Netflix When Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) take their family on a weekend getaway, an unexpected cyberattack causes their trip to take a turn. G. H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) and Ruth (Myha'la) show up on the doorstep of the house they're occupying, needing to stay. The events that proceed are those of apocalyptic occurrences and provide a thrilling film for viewers to watch in Leave the World Behind. With such a small, yet star-studded cast, the premise of Leave the World Behind draws viewers into this eerie world. Already sensing the slow build of the movie, the audience is still able to stay enthralled in the story and wonder where it will lead next. When G. H. Scott and Ruth join the family in the home, strange instances begin to build. By the end of the film, you are left with questions, but also wondering how the film was able to display such a realistic view of what suddenly being the only people around can do to a person. 3 'Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical' (2022) Image via Netflix Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is a girl who wants nothing more than to learn freely. She has a bright mind that naturally makes her curious. Her parents are the worst and don't allow her to freely read or enjoy learning like she wants to. When she starts going to school, she meets Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), who inspires and encourages her to start being her true self. She quickly learns that the school is being run by Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson), a villainous woman who hates kids and their happiness. Matilda starts to rebel by using her newfound superpowers to put Miss Trunchbull in her place. Her classmates soon join in her rebellion. It's an exciting and musically inspirational film. The original Matilda (1996) film is such a beloved gem to many, just like the book. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is the perfect mix of the original film but also brings out those fantastical feelings that the book so easily expressed. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical does not disappoint with its theatrical choreography and impressive musical numbers. Weir gives a performance that is just as inspirational as the character. With scene partners like Lynch and Thompson, viewers are enjoying every moment of this extraordinary film. 2 'Bird Box' (2018) Image via Netflix In a post-apocalyptic world, Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock) travels with her two children in search of sanctuary from an enemy who cannot be seen. Malorie and Tom (Trevante Rhodes) attempt to navigate through this time when a creature that preys on one's worst fears begins to take those around them one by one. After they have survived longer than most, Malorie and Tom begin the journey to the river with the guidance of birds to find a safe haven with others who have survived. Malorie and her children travel blindfolded to resist the attack of the creature, which, if seen, will cause death in Bird Box. This movie is full of suspense and thrills. With cinematography that will give viewers chills and direction that brings these characters' personalities to life. Audiences want to see the characters survive, and it is so well played by Bullock and Rhodes, as they are seen fighting to survive while also protecting each other and the children. There are even some performances from supporting characters that really drive the storytelling. The execution of Bird Box's adaptation is what made it one of the most-watched movies on Netflix. 1 'Passing' (2021) Image via Netflix Passing is a story centered around two Black women living two completely different lives and having two different experiences in the 1920s in New York City. Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) were childhood friends, but when the two reunite in adulthood, Irene realizes that Clare has been passing as a white woman. The women's mutual obsession creates problems for the two as the movie progresses. Clare's husband outwardly shows his hate for Black people, unknowingly realizing that his wife is a part of the race that he hates so much. This revelation makes Irene uncomfortable and eventually causes more issues to arise between her and Clare. Passing is a riveting movie about the portrayals of racism and the many forms that it could take in the 1920s. It also provides an intriguing and thought-provoking tale of these two women who knew each other in childhood. Their lives turned out very differently and managed to give them opposing perspectives on the subject of "passing." Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson give exquisite performances in Passing. The tone of this film is different from other films that speak about the spectrum of race, and Rebecca Hall does a phenomenal job of bringing the strongest parts of the novel to the screen. Passing Release Date October 27, 2021 Runtime 98 minutes