A House of Dynamite hit Netflix on October 24, 2025, leaving viewers deeply unsettled by its ending. With an all-star cast telling the fictional story of an apocalyptic missile attack on the United States, the Kathryn Bigelow-directed movie unfolds over the course of 18 minutes as the military and the White House watch the impending strike on a screen.
“Eighteen minutes to decide the fate of the world and yet limited information [with] which to do so,” the director told Netflix Tudum. “We see into the halls of power, where highly competent individuals are confronted with confusion, chaos, and helplessness.”
Below, News47.us explains that ambiguous ending of A House of Dynamite.
As previously noted, the A House of Dynamite cast features some of Hollywood’s most recognizable names, from Jason Clarke, Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King and Greta Lee.
Idris’ POTUS character is rushed away from a girls’ charity basketball event, is handed the “Black Book” and is told by the nuclear football handler, Lieutenant Commander Robert Reeves (Jonah), that he must select one the retaliatory attack options. Though the film’s president seems to be a composed and empathetic leader, the country — and the world — is about to explode. Even an ideal presidential character can’t offer the audience guaranteed comfort in the face of doomsday.
In the motorcade, Russia’s foreign minister tells the American president that they were not behind the missile. Therefore, the country or terrorist organization responsible for the attack is unknown.
Idris’ POTUS is then asked, “What are your orders, Mr. President?” to which he replies, “My orders …” then the film fades to black. The film ends there, with POTUS having to select one of the strike options.
