Timeline is a 2003 historical science-fiction adventure film directed and produced by Richard Donner and starring Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis, and Anna Friel. Based on Michael Crichton's 1999 novel, the film concerns present-day archaeology and history students who are sent back in time to medieval France to rescue their professor from the middle of a battle. The film was released by Paramount Pictures on November 26, 2003. It was poorly received by critics, and was a box-office bomb, losing an estimated $49 million.