--- title: Book Lovers Day: Best Book-to-IMAX-Movie Adaptations publisher: "IMAX" description: "Celebrate “Book Lovers Day” today by showing some love for classic childhood books that became IMAX films." canonical: "https://www.imax.com/book-lovers-day-best-book-imax-movie-adaptations" date: 2024-01-12 last_updated: 2024-08-12 --- [ Happy birthday, [#HarryPotter(opens in new window)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/HarryPotter?src=hash)! [pic.twitter.com/pm4ovJobvq(opens in new window)](https://t.co/pm4ovJobvq) > > — IMDb (@IMDb) [July 31, 2017(opens in new window)](https://twitter.com/IMDb/status/892128145607938048) _The Hunger Games_ _The Hunger Games_ sparked a fanatic fandom of its own. Suzanne Collins’ stories of a post-apocalyptic world involving televised death matches and government rebellions attracted millions of readers and moviegoers. The film adaptations brought back Josh Hutcherson, the beloved actor from another film adaptation, _Bridge to Terabithia_. It propelled Jennifer Lawrence into stardom as a role model for courageous girls on and off the screen. Just like with _Harry Potter_, fans would take [quizzes to find out which district of Panem they’d belong to(opens in new window)](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/which-hunger-games-district-do-you-actually-belong-in?utm%5Fterm=.mkOzMqgO12#.psb2mA0eaZ). Mockingjay pins became fashion staples, and finding a fellow fan was never easier than holding up three fingers in the air. Archery became the new big thing after Katniss made it cool, but if you were going to use a bow and arrow, you had to don the classic braid, too. Bonus: Did you know that the _Hunger Games: Catching Fire_ arena scenes were shot on IMAX cameras? _The Hobbit_ & _The Lord of the Rings_ Throwing it back to a little over a century ago when J. R. R. Tolkien wrote _The Hobbit_ and plunged readers into an entirely new world. Although _The Hobbit_ is a precursor to _The Lord of the Rings,_ the LOTR films were the first on-screen introduction to Middle-earth. The first of its trilogy, released in 2001, introduced a new legion of diehard fans to the fantastical tale and led to two subsequent films. The books and films have left quite the legacy; references made to both _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ remain relevant, and the books are still essential to some high school curriculums. Despite the stories being the oldest of this bunch, _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ still attract new fans all the time. You’re guaranteed to see at least one kid on Halloween each year in a Gandalf costume, complete with a beard that would probably take as many years to grow as _The Hobbit_ has been around. Furry hobbit feet slippers exist, too, so when you curl up to re-watch one of the six films for the one hundredth time, your feet can stay warm and in character. > Why was Lord of the Rings made into a movie?The fans were Baggins for it. > > — Tolkien Proverb (@tolkienproverb) [August 4, 2017(opens in new window)](https://twitter.com/tolkienproverb/status/893504794425520128) We can’t wait to see what the next big book-to-movie franchise will be. There are countless other books to celebrate today. Here’s to the authors who create them and the filmmakers who bring them to life! _\- Samantha Ulin | Intern, Corporate Communications_