History Main / NovelizationFirst

* The novelization of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension'' was available on June 28, 2011, earlier than the movie itself aired on DisneyChannel.

* Famously, ''Franchise/StarWars'', including most movies plus adaptations of many ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episodes and games like ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. Notably, the very first ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' had a novelization known as ''Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker'' ghostwritten by Creator/AlanDeanFoster (given proper credit in reprints) during production and released ''six months'' before the film's initial theatrical cut, in December 1976, though this can be excused as part of the promotion of a product whose success was not at all assured.

* Famously, ''Franchise/StarWars'', including most movies plus adaptations of many ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episodes and games like ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. Notably, the very first ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' had a novelization known as ''Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker'' written during production and released ''six months'' before the film's theatrical cut, in December 1976, though this can be excused as part of the promotion of a product whose success was not at all assured.

* Famously, ''Franchise/StarWars'', including most movies plus adaptations of many ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episodes and games like ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. Notably, the very first ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' had a novelization known as ''Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker'' written during production and released ''six months'' before the film's original theatrical cut, in December 1976, though this can be excused as part of the promotion of a product whose success was not at all assured.

* People studying literature and old German cinema to this day debate whether ''Film/Metropolis'' was a movie adaptation of a book or the movie script got made into a novel. The novel came out first, though.

* People studying literature and old German cinema to this day debate whether ''Metropolis'' was a movie adaptation of a book or the movie script got made into a novel. The novel came out first, though.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie Movie Novelization'' was released on September 22, 2015, before the actual movie's October San Francisco premiere and November New York City premiere.

** All prequel movies had novelizations, comic adaptations and ''Illustrated screenplays'' released in a month or so before the movie's release. Add in the official soundtrack and the video game adaptation and by the time of the premiere you could not only know the plot, but ''every single line'' as well. Specifically, the novelizations of the first two movies were the first to be released, and the graphic novel of the third was the first to be released.

* Famously, ''StarWars'', including all six movies plus adaptations of many ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episodes and games like ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. Notably, the novelization of the original ''StarWars'' was released ''six months'' before the movie, in December 1976, though this can be excused as part of the promotion of a movie whose success was not at all assured.
** All prequel movies had novelizations, comic adaptations and ''Illustrated screenplays'' released in a month before the movie's release. Add in the official soundtrack and the video game adaptation and by the time of the premiere you could not only know the plot, but ''every single line'' as well.
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' broke the trend, with digital copies released on the same day as the movie and print copies two weeks ''after'' that to avoid spoiling the movie.

* Famously, ''StarWars'': every single movie plus adaptations of many ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episodes and games like ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. Notably, the novelization of the original ''StarWars'' was released ''six months'' before the movie, in December 1976, though this can be excused as part of the promotion of a movie whose success was not at all assured.
** All prequel movies had novelizations, comic adaptations and ''Illustrated screenplays'' released a month before the movie's release. Add in the official soundtrack and the video game adaptation and by the time you see the movie for the first time, you could not only know what happens, but ''every single line'' as well.

* Many {{Pixar}} movies - as well as the sequels to ''DespicableMe'' and ''TheSmurfs'' - had their novelisations come out before the films did, as well as tie-in books.

* The ''{{Starcraft}}: Ghost'' book came out around 2006. The computer game is [[VaporWare indefinitely postponed]].

* The novelization of ''PhineasAndFerb [[TheMovie Across the Second Dimension]]'' was available on June 28, 2011, earlier than the movie itself aired on DisneyChannel.

* One of the earliest examples is the novelization of the original KingKong by Delos W. Lovelace which was released in December 1932, some three months before the film's premiere. As often happens with these, since it used an earlier version if the script, some details are different, such as the name of the ship.

* Famously, ''StarWars'': every single movie plus adaptations of many ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episodes and games like ''TheForceUnleashed''. Notably, the novelization of the original ''StarWars'' was released ''six months'' before the movie, in December 1976, though this can be excused as part of the promotion of a movie whose success was not at all assured.

* The novel for ''Film/{{Spider-Man}} 3'' was in bookstores, and even Wal-Mart, months before the actual movie was released.
* ''Film/IronMan 2'': Same as above.

** Eventually he had to write an entire science article both to sort this out ''and'' explain in how many ways the scientific problems of shrinking were ignored by the screenwriters.

* AlphaAndOmega.

* Many {{Pixar}} movies - the sequels to ''DespicableMe'' and ''TheSmurfs'', for example - had their novelisations come out before the films did, as well as tie-in books.

* Many {{Pixar}} movies - the sequels to ''DispicableMe'' and ''TheSmurfs'', for example - had their novelisations come out before the films did, as well as tie-in books.

* The novelizations for all ''three Film/{{Transformers}}'' films were released before the film's release. They also each had a prequel novel released two months prior of the release of the novelizatios

* The novelization of Sozin's Comet, the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', came out months before the actual episodes were shown on {{Nickelodeon}}.

This, obviously, does not apply to cases where the original work is a book series itself (e.g. ''HarryPotter'') and receives a re-release right before its [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] hits the box office. (Unless the novelization is specifically [[RecursiveAdaptation based on the adaptation]], instead of the original source.)

* The novelization of Sozin's Comet, the GrandFinale of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', came out months before the actual episodes were shown on {{Nickelodeon}}.

* Novelizations of the ''Series/AlienNation'' [[MadeForTVMovie Made-for-TV Movies]] ''Dark Horizon'' (1994) and ''Body and Soul'' (1995) were both published in 1993, based on unfilmed scripts for future episodes of the series.