The film business is one of the most influential industries in the world, but much of the money that those famous directors make is not from creating original material.

“Book-to-movie adaptions are a huge business nowadays,” film teacher Jim Fountain said. “If a book is successful, you can pretty much guarantee that it is going to be made into a movie.”

Some of the most successful films recently started out as novels. When “The Hunger Games” was released, it set records for the strongest spring opening, taking in $155 million in its first weekend, and ending up 14th on the biggest box office grosses with over $400 million. Some of the most anticipated upcoming movies are those based on books.

The Boy Who Lived

It can be argued that the rise of the young adult (YA) adaptations started with the teenage wizard with a lightning scar. The Harry Potter books have become the best-selling series in recent years and the movies have made over $7 billion worldwide. The series has also created its own fan base that spans websites to musicals to fan groups, including Perry’s own “Harry Potter Club.”

Werewolves vs. Vampires

The massive influence of YA novels continued with the box-office breaking power of the “Twilight Saga” films. Though not critically acclaimed, the films also created a group of devout followers, the self-proclaimed “Twi-hards.” The series, which lasted five movies, made over $3.3 billion in world receipts.

Is the future YA?

This year alone has seen the release of several hyped adaptations, from “Beautiful Creatures” and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” to “The Host” and “Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters.” None of these films have met the same numbers as their predecessors, but upcoming movies are poised to break records once again.

The next part in “The Hunger Games” franchise, “Catching Fire,” is to be released in November, as is the movie adaption of the popular historical fiction novel “The Book Thief.”  Two anticipated future movies, “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Divergent” both star actress Shailene Woodley.

These, along with the dozens of future films lining the Hollywood calendar, show that YA book adaptations are here to stay.