When Does "Roofman" (2025) Take Place?
"Roofman" is a historical fiction crime film written by Derek Cianfrance with Kirt Gunn, David Stephens, and Peter Petrucci that released October 10th, 2025. So when is "Roofman" set?
It takes place in the year:
We know this because early in the story while real-world serial robber Jeffrey Manchester a.k.a. Roofman is being sentenced, the judge says, "Let the record state that on the 4th of February, 2004, you’re hereby sentenced"… So it is February of 2004 AD at the start of the main action.
2004 AD
We know this because early in the story while real-world serial robber Jeffrey Manchester a.k.a. Roofman is being sentenced, the judge says, "Let the record state that on the 4th of February, 2004, you’re hereby sentenced"… So it is February of 2004 AD at the start of the main action.
Soon, Jeffrey makes an escape and little date information is given but in the real world this happened on June 15th, 2004 AD.
Later, a ripped up calendar Jeffrey put on the wall of his hiding place and uses to keep track of the days tells us we're slowly moving from “JUNE 2004” to “JULY 2004”. A news report states: “Nearly 2 weeks since Jeffrey Manchester escaped from Brown Creek Penitentiary.” So it is late June of 2004 AD.
Then, a poster is briefly shown for a Crossroads Presbyterian Church event that he later attends with "AUGUST 24, 2004" on it. So it is certainly August of 2004 AD at this point of the story.
The main action concludes just before a planned "Christmas dinner" so it is either December 24th or December 25th, 2004 AD. The last we see of Jeffrey’s calendar is the “DECEMBER” page.
[HOWEVER, in the real world this was a birthday dinner and it occurred on January 5th, 2005 AD.]
[HOWEVER, in the real world this was a birthday dinner and it occurred on January 5th, 2005 AD.]
Additionally, the movie's opening functions like a prologue describing Jeffrey's actions before prison. It is strongly implied this takes place over just 1 year from one of his daughter's birthdays to the next. That would probably make the very start of the whole tale in 2003 AD.
[HOWEVER, in the real world this early period spanned from November of 1998 AD when he began robbing McDonald's restaurants to May 20th, 2000 AD when he was first arrested. He then spent 4 years in prison until June of 2004 AD.]
