Fifty Shades of Grey, the Movie? Check Out Five Films That Were Better Than the Books

Curious whether E.L. James' erotic read will become a box office hit? Check out our list of bestsellers we preferred on the big screen

By Alyssa Toomey Jul 11, 2012 1:49 AMTags
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The erotic tale has already taken up residence in countless Kindles and bookshelves, and now the deliciously dirty novel Fifty Shades of Grey officially has The Social Network production team attached to the flick.

Despite the fact that the raunchy read began as Internet fan fiction and E.L. James uses the phrase "inner goddess", like, a million times, the cheese-tastic love story is being made into a major motion picture franchise. And if the preceding hype's any indication, the flick's bound to be a huge box hit.

Our point? You don't always need a good book to make a ridiculously fun and fabulous movie.

But we're not talking classic examples like The Godfather or Gone with the Wind, folks! Instead, we've got five 21st century tales that were more banging at the box office than the bookstore:

Barry Wetcher / 20th Century Fox

1. The Devil Wears Prada: Lauren Weisberger gave us a easy beach read when she penned her Anna Wintour-inspired novel, but Meryl Streep gave us a killer flick when she brought the icy queen of fashion to life as Miranda Priestly. It was totally painful to watch Anne Hathaway relentlessly try to please the brilliantly bitchy Streep (of course, to no avail). We love you, Lauren, but no one can compete with the all-powerful Streep.

Summit

2. Twilight: OK, so it's not exactly a classic film, but it is far more fun as a blockbuster hit. Why? Well, it's pretty simple: We enjoyed Bella and Edward bloodsucking in Stephenie Meyer's book, but we loved Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart getting it on on the big screen. And come on, how much better is it to watch K.Stew's vampy transformation than to read about Bella's journey. And really, the Twilight trifecta (that'd be Rob, Kris and Taylor Lautner) is so much better.

3. The Avengers: Before all you comic book lovers hit the comments in a geeked-out tizzy, hear us out: The 1960s-era comic itself is terrific Marvel fun, but come on, it's so much more fun to watch all the action at the box office! Seriously, can a comic compete with the real-life Scarlett Johansson as a sexed-up super hero?! And what about the fact that Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is so much more badass in the flick?! The movie brings the comic (and its costumed characters) to life and we could not be more pleased with the blockbuster version of this superhero story. (And yes, we still love the comic books.)

4. The Notebook: Two words: Iconic kiss. And it's that breathtaking make-out sesh between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams that made us swoon for hours and permanently planted this movie in our minds. Of course, the romance was just as sweet in the book, but the film made their love story absolutely magical. "If you're a bird, I'm a bird," sounds so much less cheesy when uttered by the gorgeous Gosling, right?!

Merrick Morton/Columbia TriStar

5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Stieg Larsson penned a brilliant plot in his Dragon Tattoo trilogy, but the twists and turns, confusing Swedish names and drawn out discoveries made the book a bit of a slog to read. But the movie (both the Swedish and American version) was action-packed and kept you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire extravaganza. And we simply must give a shout-out to Rooney Mara who perfectly embodied Lisbeth Salander on the big screen—she kept us thoroughly entertained throughout the two-and-a-half-hour flick. 

Do you agree with our choices and are you excited for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie?! Hit the comments with your thoughts!

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