Is A House of Dynamite factually accurate? Here's what the creative team said in defence of the latest Netflix thriller

A House of Dynamite received a nomination for the Golden Lion at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. Kathryn Bigelow directs the apocalyptic political thriller film with a script from Noah Oppenheim. After a limited theatrical release, the film premiered on Netflix on October 24, 2025.

Here is the official synopsis as per IMDb:

“When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.”

Since the film focuses on a nuclear attack, there has reportedly been some debate about its authentic portrayal of the said scenario. Let's find out.

How true is A House of Dynamite?

A House of Dynamite showcases how the US government responds to a nuclear missile heading towards Chicago. It showcases that the missile defense system only has a 50% accuracy rate, and it eventually fails to stop the incoming threat. Since its release, several defence officials have refuted the claims made in the film.

A memo shared by the Missile Defense Agency stated that the missile “displayed a 100% accuracy rate in testing for more than a decade.” Noah Oppenheim, the writer of A House of Dynamite, spoke to MSNBC about the same:

“I’m not a missile defense expert, but I did talk to many missile defense experts who were all on the record. We just asked [ex Pentagon and White House officials] a ton of questions. How does it work? What are the processes? What are the procedures? So what you see on screen is hopefully a fairly accurate portrait of the reality that exists.”

He added:

“Unfortunately, our missile defense system is highly imperfect. If the Pentagon wants to have a conversation about improving it or what the next step might be in keeping all of us safer, that’s the conversation we want to have. But what we show in the movie is accurate.”

In a separate interview, Kathryn Bigelow also revealed that she spoke to several ex-employees of the White House and Pentagon to guide them for accuracy in A House of Dynamite.

The film is produced by Kathryn Bigelow, Noah Oppenheim, and Greg Shapiro under the banners First Light, Prologue Entertainment, and Kingsgate Films. It stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, and Anthony Ramos.

A House of Dynamite is streaming on Netflix.