Forget About This Case

The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film tells the story of five teenagers from different high school cliques who serve a Saturday detention overseen by their authoritarian vice principal. Hughes had written the script in 1982, and began casting for the film after the release of Sixteen Candles (1984). Filming took place from March to May 1984, and the entire film was shot at Maine North High School in Des Plaines, Illinois. Although the film is technically not an independent film due to Universal Pictures' involvement as a producer, The Breakfast Club has been popularly recognized as one; the low budget, Universal not being the primary production company, and the overall feel of the film are factors to its recognition. The film premiered in Los Angeles on February 7, 1985, and was theatrically released by Universal Pictures on February 15, 1985. It grossed $52.1 million against a $1 million budget, and earned acclaim from critics, who consider it to be one of Hughes's most memorable and recognized works, and is considered one of the cornerstone films of the 1980s. The media subsequently referred to the film's five main actors as members of a group called the "Brat Pack". In 2015, the film was digitally remastered and was re-screened in 430 theaters in celebration of its 30th anniversary. In 2016, The Breakfast Club was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".