The Outsiders (film)

The Outsiders
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Screenplay by	Kathleen Rowell
Based on	The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
Produced by	Gray Frederickson Fred Roos
Starring	C. Thomas Howell Matt Dillon Ralph Macchio Patrick Swayze Rob Lowe Diane Lane Emilio Estevez Tom Cruise Leif Garrett Glenn Withrow
Cinematography	Stephen H. Burum
Edited by	Anne Goursaud
Music by	Carmine Coppola
Production company	Zoetrope Studios
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	March 25, 1983 (1983-03-25) (United States)
Running time	91 minutes (Theatrical version) 114 minutes (The Complete Novel)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$33.7 million

The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film.^[1]

The film is notable for its then up-and-coming cast members, including C. Thomas Howell (who garnered a Young Artist Award), Rob Lowe in his feature film debut, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane. It would also spark the Brat Pack genre of the 1980s, while Dillon himself starred in two more films based on Hinton novels: Tex (1982), with Estevez, and Coppola's Rumble Fish (1983), with Lane. Estevez wrote and starred in the Hinton adaptation That Was Then... This Is Now (1985).^[2]

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, most notably for its performances, and performed well at the box office, grossing $33.7 million on a $10 million budget. Over the years, the film has earned a cult following and has spawned a 1990 sequel television series and a successful 2023 stage musical.^[3]