In the 1993 romantic comedy Groundhog Day, Phil Connors repeatedly relives February 2.
The date is Groundhog Day, an annual tradition in which a groundhog’s behavior is said to predict how much longer winter will last. In the film, cynical television weatherman Phil Connors travels to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the celebration and discovers that the same day keeps repeating.
The movie uses February 2 as both a plot mechanism and a symbolic setting. Phil initially treats the repeated day as a curse, but he gradually changes how he treats other people and uses his seemingly endless time to learn new skills and help the community. The story’s exact number of repeated days is never definitively stated in the finished film, despite estimates from viewers and commentators.
The film was directed by Harold Ramis and stars Bill Murray as Phil Connors and Andie MacDowell as television producer Rita Hanson. Its title refers to the real holiday as well as the time-loop premise.