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. The film is noted for its cast of up-and-coming stars, 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. The film helped spark the Brat Pack genre of the 1980s. Dillon would also star 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). 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. Plot The Curtis brothers' parents are dead, so eldest brother Darrel ("Darry") is left to raise and support his two younger brothers, Ponyboy and Sodapop ("Soda"), in 1965 Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some socially affluent teens harass and assault Ponyboy until some of his fellow greasers chase them off. The next night, he, Johnny and Dallas catch a movie at the local drive-in, where Dallas flirts with "Soc" Cherry Valance. Unsuccessful, he leaves, however, Cherry invites Ponyboy and Johnny to sit with her and Marcia. Later, while walking the two teen girls home, their boyfriends, Socs Bob and Randy, take umbrage at this, so the girls leave with them to avoid any escalation. Pony and Johnny walk to an abandoned lot, instead of home, so Johnny can avoid his parents' routinely volatile bickering and domestic violence. He laments the hopelessness of his young life, both domestically and within the socio-economic structures established at school. Falling asleep, Ponyboy awakens a few hours later and rushes home, fearing his elder brother's discipline, who rebukes and even strikes him. He runs off to a local park with Johnny. They climb on the jungle gym, reminiscing about their childhood until they are confronted, chased, and attacked by Bob, Randy, and three