'The Maze Runner' opens at No. 1, lands a sequel 

\'The Maze Runner\' opens at No. 1, lands a sequel

The first novel in James Dashner\'s dystopian sci-fi trilogy "The Maze Runner" had a strong opening weekend in September 2014. Dylan O\'Brien plays the young hero Thomas in a post-apocalyptic world. Here are some of the other titles that went from best-seller to box office.

Fans of Suzanne Collins\' "Hunger Games" series are waiting with bated breath for the release of "Mockingjay -- Part 1" on November 21, 2014.

Author Gayle Forman\'s novel "If I Stay" came to the big screen in August, with Jamie Blackley as Adam and Chloe Moretz starring as Mia Hall.

Lois Lowry\'s "The Giver" has been adapted into a movie starring newcomers Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush. Thwaites portrays Jonas, the central character, who begins to realize that the utopia he was raised in isn\'t as perfect as it seems.

The hotly anticipated film version of John Green\'s "The Fault in Our Stars" starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort reached theaters on June 6 and opened at No. 1.

An adaptation of Veronica Roth\'s bestselling first novel in her "Divergent" trilogy landed in theaters in March 2014, starring Shailene Woodley as protagonist Tris Prior and Zoe Kravitz as Christina.

The beginning of Richelle Mead\'s popular "Vampire Academy" six-book series debuted in theaters February 2014. The story follows Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry), a vampire princess, and her bodyguard Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch, pictured here with Cameron Monaghan as Mason Ashford), at a boarding school for vampires and the half-human teens trained to protect them.

The film adaptation of Markus Zusak\'s award-winning novel "The Book Thief" brings to life young Liesel\'s struggle to steal books and share them with the Jewish refugee in her home against the backdrop of WWII Germany. Sophie Nelisse plays Liesel Meminger in this story, narrated by Death. It reached the big screen in November 2013.

Orson Scott Card\'s novel "Ender\'s Game," which began as a short story in 1977, finally made the jump to the big screen in November 2013, starring Asa Butterfield as Ender and Hailee Steinfeld as Petra.

After a lackluster August 2013 release for the adaptation of the first book in Cassandra Clare\'s "Mortal Instruments" series, production for the second film was initially put on hold. But one thing fans did seem to like about "City of Bones"? The casting, with Jemima West as Isabelle, Robert Sheehan as Simon, Lily Collins as Clary, Kevin Zegers as Alec and Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace.

Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia\'s bestselling series opener "Beautiful Creatures," starring Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert, didn\'t fare well at the box office, but the books have sold millions of copies and the fan base continues to grow. A spinoff series of books, "Dangerous Creatures," is also in the works, thanks to 4 million new readers after the movie\'s debut in February 2013.

Stephen Chbosky wrote "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and then adapted it into a successful film in 2012 starring Ezra Miller, Emma Watson and Logan Lerman.

All seven of J.K. Rowling\'s books made the leap from page to screen, beginning with the first one in 2001 and wrapping up in 2011. It\'s been a trend to split the last book in a series into two films, with the "Twilight" and "Hunger Games" franchises following suit. The success of the "Harry Potter" films also led to adaptations of "Lemony Snicket\'s A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Inkheart" and "The Spiderwick Chronicles," none of which replicated the success of "Potter." Pictured: Matthew Lewis, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe.

Author Stephenie Meyer signed on as producer for the last two films of her "Twilight" saga, as well as the adaptation of her novel "The Host." "Twilight" was also the first franchise to spark Summit Entertainment\'s interest in adapting young adult novels for the screen. Another vampire adaptation, "Cirque de Freak: The Vampire\'s Assistant," didn\'t inspire the same viewership, although L.J. Smith\'s "The Vampire Diaries" has found success on the small screen. Pictured: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Foy, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

"The Hunger Games" franchise, starring Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence, has been a hit. Based on Suzanne Collins\' politically themed dystopian trilogy, "The Hunger Games" consists of four films: 2012\'s "The Hunger Games"; 2013\'s "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay Part I" and "Mockingjay Part II." The first "Mockingjay" film arrives in theaters in November.

The first "Percy Jackson" adaptation, based on Rick Riordan\'s popular series, came out in 2010 and fans were struck by serious deviations from the original plot and even the hair color change for a main character, Annabeth. "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" continued the franchise in summer 2013 and gave Annabeth (played by Alexandra Daddario) back her original blond hair. Also pictured: Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson.

Meg Cabot\'s popular "The Princess Diaries" series made the leap to the silver screen in 2001, a year after the first book published. After two films, the second of which deviated sharply from the books, Disney didn\'t pursue any more of the series. The bestselling books detailing the life of Mia Thermopolis (played by Anne Hathaway in the films), however, grew to include 17 titles.

The first of Christopher Paolini\'s successful Inheritance Cycle series, "Eragon" was adapted in 2006 during the fantasy boom, inspired by "Harry Potter." But the film, starring Ed Speleers, didn\'t reach the expectations of fans who adored the books. None of the other books have been adapted.

C.S. Lewis\' famous series hit the big screen with "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" in 2005. The franchise continued with "Prince Caspian" in 2008 and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (pictured) in 2010. "The Silver Chair" has been announced, but there is no release date yet. Fans had mixed reactions to the films so far. The first movie grossed $291 million, while the third only netted $104 million. Pictured: Will Poulter, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley and Ben Barnes.

Also part of the "Narnia" and "Harry Potter" fantasy boom, the first of Philip Pullman\'s "His Dark Materials" series hit the screen in 2007. It was full of star power, with Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards as young Lyra, as well as plenty of CGI. But the series has yet to continue on the big screen.

This retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" starring Vanessa Hudgens was connected to Alex Flinn\'s book by name and little else, according to fans. But it allowed actor Alex Pettyfer to continue his string of young adult film projects in 2011. Pettyfer previously starred in "Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker."

Pittacus Lore\'s (pseudonym of James Frey and Jobie Hughes) science fiction series seemed like the perfect material for a film in 2011. But the sequel was shelved. However, Alex Pettyfer strikes again.

"The Maze Runner" had the biggest opening weekend since early August

Liam Neeson\'s new action movie didn\'t fare as well

(CNN) -- "The Maze Runner" ran away with the weekend box office, ringing up the best debut since early August.

The post-apocalyptic action flick, based on James Dashner\'s novel of the same name, cruised to victory with an estimated $32.5 million debut. In the world of young adult fiction turned Hollywood fodder, that\'s closer to a mega-hit like "The Hunger Games" than a flameout like "The Mortal Instruments."

In "The Maze Runner," Dylan O\'Brien stars as the newcomer among a group of teens trapped in a mysterious glade, unsure why they\'re there or how to navigate the massive, menacing maze that appears to be their only way out. The film\'s strong opening should help restore some of the faith in YA novel adaptations after the recent weak performance of "The Giver."

In fact, since the "Maze" novel is part of a trilogy -- and since the movie nearly made back its $34 million production budget in just three days -- it was no surprise when Fox announced plans for a sequel before the weekend even ended. "The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials" is scheduled to hit theaters September 18, 2015.

Opening in a sluggish second this weekend was R-rated thriller "A Walk Among the Tombstones," starring AARP action hero Liam Neeson as an alcoholic former detective turned unlicensed private investigator. Its lukewarm total of $13.1 million was still enough to hold off the weekend\'s other new wide release, "This Is Where I Leave You," which stars Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Jane Fonda as a dysfunctional family reunited by a funeral.

After a month and a half, "Guardians of the Galaxy" finally fell out of the box office top five, but it didn\'t go far: It landed in sixth place, with total domestic ticket sales now at $313 million, and $632 million in worldwide grosses. Look for the "Guardians" sequel in 2017.

On a less successful note, writer/director Kevin Smith\'s comic horror tale "Tusk" managed to pull in just $886,000 after opening in 600 theaters. Justin Long stars as a smarmy podcaster who, while searching for stories, heads to Canada, where a man takes him prisoner and begins turning him into a walrus. Yes, you read that correctly.

Domestic weekend box office estimates are from Exhibitor Relations Co. (final numbers arrive Monday afternoon):

3. "This Is Where I Leave You" -- $11.9 million

4. "No Good Deed" -- $10.2 million ($40.1 million in 10 days)

5. "Dolphin Tale 2" -- $9 million ($27 million in 10 days)

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