Book sales are soaring thanks to the vast number of screen adaptations coming out this year.
From Project Hail Mary to The Odyssey, movie fans are immersing themselves in the paperback versions of 2026’s most highly anticipated cinema releases.
Number One New York Times Bestselling Author Emily Henry enjoyed a 97% increase in book sales 2 weeks after the film version of People We Meet On Vacation was released, according to Penguin Publishing Group.
Audiobook listens on Spotify also increased by 494% for psychological thriller His and Hers after the series premiered on Netflix.
However, with half of UK adults not reading regularly, are movie adaptations able to save the written word?
The ancient poem tackling a modern crisis
Christopher Nolan’s version of The Odyssey has seen book sales of the epic classic increase by a staggering 1,400% in the four weeks before its release date, according to market researchers NielsenIQ.
The 2026 fantasy action film starring Hollywood royalty like Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland, has also created a huge buzz in the BookTok community.
In her rot and read series on TikTok, creator @melovesreading set out to finish the poem, translated by Emily Wilson, before seeing the screen adaptation in the cinema.
Immersing herself in the world with nothing but headphones and annotation stickers, she rated the book 3.75 stars out of five in her reading recap last month.
But she is not the only one in on the hype.
Book clubs on reading app Fable are tackling the daunting classic together, dissecting the 24-chapter book in a community forum.
With almost one in four readers saying reading helps them feel connected to other people, conversations on public platforms like this have never been more crucial in helping new readers stick with the hobby.
MORE BOOK NEWS: New novel, Lament, announced by ex-Emmerdale actress Jessie Elland
The more controversial, the better?
On February 14th, Emerald Fennell’s contentious adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic gothic novel, Wuthering Heights, released in cinemas.
Dividing the internet with her casting choices and modern soundtrack by Charlie XCX, Fennel caused a heated online debate.
Defending the adaptation on TikTok, content creator @cstar1992 said: “I could have watched 4 more hours of Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie pine after each other.”
Whereas @nooriekhalid criticised the release: “It shows a complete lack of care for Emily Bronte’s work through the inaccurate casting and costuming.”
However, no matter if you loved the book or hated it, there is no doubt Bronte’s masterpiece benefited massively from the controversy.
Figures from Penguin Classics UK boasted a sales increase of 132%, after the first teaser trailer was released last September.
What is next?
With Sunrise on the Reaping, Sense and Sensibility and The Love Hypothesis still to come out later this year, it is clear the film industry is invested in bringing books to life.
And it is not hard to see why; 70% of the most successful films worldwide are based on a literary work.
Going hand in hand, the book and film industry look to continue joining forces in recapturing the imagination that fans lost in the distractions of the online world.
READ NEXT: Harry Potter fans force reroute of major UK-Ireland electricity cable
