How accurate is A House of Dynamite? Fact-checking all the important parts of this new Netflix movie

A House of Dynamite is a political thriller Netflix film that premiered on October 24, 2025, directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow.  Written by Noah Oppenheim, a former president of NBC News who interviewed military and government insiders, the film explores what it would take to track a nuclear-armed, unidentified intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) speeding toward Chicago, on a clock, threatening ten million lives in real time for 18 minutes.

The cast comprises Idris Elba as the President of the United States, Jared Harris as the Secretary of Defense, Rebecca Ferguson as an officer in the Situation Room, Tracy Letts as the Commander of STRATCOM, as well as actors Gabriel Basso, Jason Clarke and Kaitlyn Dever.

The plot centers on leaders trying to determine who has launched the attack, identify the missile, and intercept it, even as they navigate the protocols of a chaotic nuclear-powered relief effort. Grounded in real nuclear command structures, the film explores human stakes in a doomsday crisis.

A House of Dynamite: Fact-checking Netflix's nuclear crisis drama

A House of Dynamite nails several aspects of US nuclear operations. The Strategic Command (STRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska is accurately shown as the hub for ICBMs, bombers and submarines. Battlegrams, handwritten notes for secure intel sharing, are a real tactic to avoid digital leaks.

The nuclear football, a briefcase with launch codes and strike options, is correctly depicted as always near the president, carried by a military aide. The president’s sole authority to order a nuclear strike, without approval from Congress or advisors, matches US law. The president’s sole authority to order a nuclear strike without approval from Congress or advisors matches US law. Settings like the White House Situation Room and the Presidential Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) feel authentic.

The show’s research is solid. Former STRATCOM chief Dan Karbler, a consultant, praised its accuracy after the team toured command facilities and spoke with missileers. The Black Book, a strike menu with casualty estimates, mirrors real classified documents described by journalist Annie Jacobsen as resembling a grim diner menu. 

The estimate of ten million deaths from a Chicago megaton blast aligns with models predicting six to seven million immediate fatalities in a similar urban strike, far surpassing Hiroshima’s 140,000 deaths. Oppenheim’s interviews with former officials capture human elements—staff stress, tense exchanges and the weight of irreversible decision-making, making the crisis feel real.

Some parts of A House of Dynamite stretch reality for suspense. The core idea of an undetected ICBM racing across the Pacific is nearly impossible. US early warning systems, including satellites, radars in Japan and Alaska and sea-based sensors, detect launches within minutes, with no major blind spots, according to nuclear security expert Andrew Futter from the University of Leicester. Identifying the attacker could take hours, not the seconds implied in the 18-minute timeline, which dramatises an ICBM’s flight time from Asia.

Missile defence is misrepresented. The show cites a fifty percent success rate for Ground-Based Interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, based on 1990s test data. But the Missile Defence Agency’s October 16, 2025, statement reports a 100% success rate in recent tests, reflecting a $50 billion investment. Defcon 1 shown as chaos, has never been reached; the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis peaked at Defcon 2 over days not minutes.

Staff panic adds drama but exaggerates reality. Former White House aide Stephen Flynn says trained personnel stay disciplined through rigorous drills. Pushing pre-emptive strikes before impact contradicts protocol, which delays retaliation until the enemy is confirmed. A single rogue missile from an unknown source is also unlikely, as Harvard’s Matthew Bunn notes, nuclear conflicts typically arise from known tensions, not sudden attacks.

A House of Dynamite is streaming now on Netflix.

Stay tuned for more such updates!