8 Must-Watch Book-to-Screen Adaptations Out in August 2025

⚓ Books    📅 2025-08-05    👤 surdeus    👁️ 4      

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We’re still in the heat of the summer movie season, book lovers, and there are plenty of page-to-screen adaptations hitting theaters and streaming services in August. So gather your fellow book-loving friends, grab some popcorn, and get ready for some of the most exciting movies and TV shows of 2025.

she rides shotgun movie poster

She Rides Shotgun (Theatrical Release, August 1)

She Rides Shotgun is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Edgar Award-winning author Jordan Harper. Tate Edgerton stars as Nate, who has just been released from jail, only to realize that he and everyone he loves is now a target. So he and his daughter Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) go on the run. The film also stars Rob Yang, John Carroll Lynch, Odessa, A’zion, and David Lyons. The film is directed by Nick Rowland and is set for a limited theatrical release on August 1.

my oxford year movie poster

My Oxford Year (Netflix, August 1)

Romance lovers should tune into Netflix on August 1 for the release of the film My Oxford Year, inspired by the novel of the same name by Julia Whelan. Sofia Carson plays American Anna De La Vega (Ella Durran in the novel). Looking to follow her dreams, Anna decides to spend a year studying English literature in Oxford. A fling with a local soon becomes more serious, and all of Anna’s expectations for what her life was going to be completely change. Corey Mylchreest also stars as Jamie Davenport. The film is directed by Iain Morris.

The Bad Guys 2 movie poster

The Bad Guys 2 (Theatrical Release, August 1)

The Bad Guys 2 is the second adaptation of the children’s series Bad Guys, written by Australian author Aaron Blabey. Returning for the second film are actors Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein. Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, and Natasha Lyonne will be joining the cast as an all-female crime squad who team up with the “Bad Guys” for one last heist. This film is directed by Pierre Perifel, who also directed the first Bad Guys movie.

Freakier Friday movie poster

Freakier Friday (Theatrical Release, August 8)

We all know that Freakier Friday is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2003 Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan film Freaky Friday. But what you may or may not remember, book fans, is that these films are based on the children’s novel Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers. Julia Butters joins the cast of Freakier Friday as Harper Coleman, Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan)’s daughter. Of course, Curtis also reprises her role as Tess Coleman, Anna’s mother. You’d better believe there’s going to be some swapping going on here.

Eyes of Wakanda poster

Eyes of Wakanda (Disney+, August 27)

Here’s one for the Black Panther fans. Eyes of Wakanda is a new Disney+ animated anthology series based on Marvel’s Black Panther and the world of Wakanda. The series will follow the Wakandan warriors Hatut Zaraze. Its ensemble cast includes Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, Jacques Colimon, Jona Xiao, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Gary Anthony Williams, Zeke Alton, Steve Toussaint, and Anika Noni Rose. The series was developed by Ryan Coogler and directed by Todd Harris.

the thursday murder club poster

The Thursday Murder Club (Netflix, August 28)

Here’s another Netflix film adaptation you won’t want to miss this month! The Thursday Murder Club, based on the novel of the same name by Richard Osman, follows a group of elderly amateur sleuths who attempt to solve a murder. The group includes Elizabeth Best, a retired spy (Helen Mirren); Ron Ritchie, a retired trade union official (Pierce Brosnan); Ibrahim Arif, a retired psychiatrist (Ben Kingsley); and Joyce Meadowcroft, a retired nurse (Celia Imrie). Chris Columbus directs.

the roses movie poster

The Roses (Theatrical Release, August 29)

This film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, is based on the 1981 satirical black comedy novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. Theo (Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Colman) Rose are a couple who were once blissfully married, but soon see their relationship descending into chaos. The film also stars Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Allison Janney, and Belinda Bromilow. It’s directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) with a screenplay by Tony McNamara (The Favourite, Poor Things).

caught stealing movie poster

Caught Stealing (Theatrical Release, August 29)

Director Darren Aronofsky’s latest film is Caught Stealing, an adaptation of the novel by the same name by Charlie Huston. Huston also wrote the screenplay for the movie. Austin Butler stars as Henry “Hank” Thompson, a former baseball player who gets dragged into the criminal underworld of New York City after her agrees to watch his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith)’s cat. Caught Stealing also stars Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Carol Kane, and Bad Bunny.


A lot of exciting new adaptations are coming out this month, but unfortunately, they are disproportionately adaptations of books by white authors. If you’re looking to read more diverse stories by authors of color, here’s a list of the best books of the year (so far) by BIPOC authors.

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