Roofman ending explained: Did Roofman get caught at the end?

Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman (2025) brings one of America’s most unusual true-crime stories to the big screen, blending the filmmaker’s signature realism with a surprising touch of comedy. The film stars Channing Tatum as Jeffrey Manchester, a real-life fugitive who became infamous for robbing McDonald’s restaurants by sneaking in through their roofs.

Roofman premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2025, before releasing in U.S. theaters on October 10 via Paramount Pictures and Miramax.

Cianfrance reimagines Manchester not as a hardened criminal but as a man driven by desperation and flawed optimism, one who tries to balance guilt, survival, and a craving for connection.

At the end of Roofman (2025), Jeffrey Roofman Manchester is ultimately caught after police use his girlfriend Leigh to lure him out, ending his double life and returning him to prison.

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What happens in Roofman?

The movie begins with Jeffrey Manchester, an ex–Army reservist struggling to provide for his family. When financial pressures mount, he starts robbing McDonald’s franchises by breaking in through the roof, a tactic that earns him the nickname Roofman.

Despite committing over 40 robberies, Jeffrey’s politeness and insistence on avoiding violence made him an oddly sympathetic criminal. But his charm didn't save him forever. He’s eventually caught and sentenced to decades in prison.

Manchester’s story takes a wild turn when he escapes from prison by hiding under a transport bus. Using his military training, he vanishes from sight and finds an unexpected hiding place inside the walls of a vacant Circuit City store, located next to a functioning Toys R Us.

For months, he secretly lives above the toy aisles, sneaking food, showering at a nearby gym, and observing the store’s staff like a man watching life through a glass wall.

That’s where he meets Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mother and Toys “R” Us employee. Lonely and disillusioned, Leigh sees something gentle and dependable in Jeff, the identity he has carefully fabricated.

Posing as a government agent, Jeff wins her trust and begins a relationship with her, even bonding with her two daughters. But as their connection deepens, his double life grows harder to maintain. Manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage) grows suspicious, and Jeff’s old friend Steve (LaKeith Stanfield) is set to return, forcing Jeff to choose between his new life and the escape he planned for months.

The deeper Roofman goes, the clearer it becomes that Jeff’s crimes aren’t driven by malice, they’re born from a desperate attempt to stay relevant and feel human again.

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Did Jeffery get caught at the end?

Roofman movie (Image Via Paramount Pictures)

Roofman ends with Jeffrey Manchester’s double life collapsing around him. His romantic relationship with Leigh, which once represented his shot at redemption, becomes the very reason for his downfall.

When the police discover his identity, they use Leigh as bait to lure him out of hiding. Unable to resist seeing her one last time, Jeff walks into a trap and is arrested without violence.

The film’s mid-credits scene goes further, revealing what happened in real life: the actual Jeffrey Manchester was sentenced to a long prison term in North Carolina’s Central Prison in Raleigh.

He attempted to escape twice more after being caught but failed both times. Leigh, the woman whose trust he betrayed, visited him once in prison before moving on with her life.

The credits also show real photographs of Manchester, Leigh, and the McDonald’s robberies that inspired the film. Short interview clips from those who encountered him, including store employees and local clergy, give the story a grounded finish.

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Interested viewers can watch the movie in theatres as of now.