<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $19 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $381.1 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Back to the Future is a 1985 American science - fiction adventure comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale . It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who is sent back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents in high school and accidentally becomes his mother's romantic interest . Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, Marty's friend who helps him repair the damage to history by helping Marty cause his parents to fall in love . Marty and Doc must also find a way to return Marty to 1985 . </P> <P> Zemeckis and Gale wrote the script after Gale mused upon whether he would have befriended his father if they had attended school together . Various film studios rejected the script until the financial success of Zemeckis' Romancing the Stone . Zemeckis approached Steven Spielberg, who agreed to produce the project at Amblin Entertainment, with Universal Pictures as distributor . The first choice for the role of Marty McFly was Michael J. Fox . However, he was busy filming his television series Family Ties and the show's producers would not allow him to star in the film . Consequently, Eric Stoltz was cast in the role . During filming, Stoltz and the filmmakers decided that the role was miscast, and Fox was again approached for the part . Now with more flexibility in his schedule and the blessing of his show's producers, Fox managed to work out a timetable in which he could give enough time and commitment to both . </P>

When did back to the future take place