Books Beat Franchises as Hollywood's Top IP Source

TheWrap's data analysis reports books supplied 37.6% of 2025's adapted screen IP, the highest share since 2017, outpacing franchises.

If it feels like Hollywood is out of new ideas, TheWrap argues the numbers suggest it is more calculated strategy than creative dry spell. According to TheWrap's data analysis, literary works accounted for 37.6% of all adapted IP titles that premiered in 2025 — the single largest source of adapted material and the highest share for book adaptations since 2017. Franchise extensions (22.3%) and true stories (15.2%) followed, while comic adaptations took just 5.1% and video games a mere 1.6%. For devoted readers, the surprise is the reversal: the once-dominant superhero pipeline now trails the humble novel by a wide margin.

The return on investment is what makes publishers and studios keep reaching for the shelf, per TheWrap. IP-driven films made up just 11.5% of the 2025 movie slate yet generated 47.1% of total audience demand, and television shows a similar skew: adaptations captured 37.5% of demand despite being only 13.8% of new shows. TheWrap reports shows and movies based on books generated 3.4 times the global demand of the average title, because novels provide tested concepts and built-in, passionate fanbases that give marketing teams a crucial head start in a crowded content landscape.

TheWrap's analysis highlights demographic reach as the quiet advantage of literary IP. Video game adaptations, by contrast, pull an audience that is overwhelmingly male (73.6%) and heavily Gen Z (48.5%) — useful for targeting young men but not a broad base. Book adaptations skew slightly older (30.6% are Gen X or older), yet TheWrap points to 2025's biggest literary releases as proof of range: 'The Odyssey' broke through with young men, while the latest adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights' won over young women. That cross-demographic appeal is a trait franchise extensions and games struggle to match.

The trend shows no sign of slowing. ua.news compiles a 2027 adaptation slate that reads like a bestseller list: Tomi Adeyemi's 'Children of Blood and Bone' arrives January 14 with Lashana Lynch, Idris Elba and Viola Davis under director Gina Prince-Bythewood; Greta Gerwig's 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew' follows February 12 with Daniel Craig and Meryl Streep; 'The Nightingale' unites Dakota and Elle Fanning on screen for the first time March 19; Emily Henry's 'Beach Read' lands May 7; and Frida McFadden's 'The Maid's Secret' closes the year December 17 with Sydney Sweeney. ua.news argues adaptations don't replace books — they serve as gateways driving new readers back to the source.