 After an advance screening , The Wanderers premiered on July 13 , 1979 , to mostly positive reviews . The film was a financial success , grossing $ 23 million at the worldwide box office . On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a rating of 89 percent . Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle praised Kaufman 's directing and the performances of Wahl and Tony Ganios . 
