A House of Dynamite Ending Explained: Does the Nuclear Missile Hit Chicago?

A House of Dynamite depicts the world on the brink of a sudden nuclear crisis, but does the intense new thriller have an explosive ending?

The film from director Kathryn Bigelow, which debuted Oct. 24 on Netflix, shows the tense minutes after “a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States,” leading to a race “to determine who is responsible and how to respond,” according to the official movie synopsis.

“Eighteen minutes to decide the fate of the world and yet limited information [with] which to do so,” Bigelow told Netflix. “We see into the halls of power, where highly competent individuals are confronted with confusion, chaos, and helplessness.”

Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson lead the film’s ensemble cast, which also features Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Gabriel Basso, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke and more. Bigelow directed, while Noah Oppenheim, former president of NBC News, wrote the screenplay.

So, does nuclear war actually happen in the new Netflix film, and is it ever revealed who launched the missile? Here’s the ending of A House of Dynamite, explained.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for A House of Dynamite!

What happens at the end of A House of Dynamite?

A House of Dynamite ends on an ambiguous cliffhanger.

The film is split into three chapters, each showing — from a different perspective — the 18 minutes as a nuclear missile heads towards the U.S.

The final section of A House of Dynamite features the President of the United States (Elba) as he learns of the nuclear missile headed toward the United States.

The movie ends as the president is forced to choose between letting the missile just hit Chicago to avoid starting a war or retaliating. The final moments show a stampede of stressed government workers — including Lee, who plays the National Security Advisor’s North Korea expert — walking toward the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, a secure nuclear shelter in Pennsylvania.

The film concludes with Major Daniel Gonzalez (Ramos) at the 59th Missile Defense Battalion in Alaska, where the movie opened. “That guy realizes in that moment the gravity of what is about to happen,” Ramos told Netflix. “This is really gonna happen, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Who launched the nuclear missile?

It is never revealed who, or which country, launched the nuclear missile headed toward Chicago, though the missile originated from somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

“I think that if if we were to identify who launched the missile, it kind of gives us all an easy out because then there’s a clear villain and they’re responsible and then we can kind of go back to our our lives,” Oppenheim explained at a screening for A House of Dynamite at the New York Film Festival.

“I think we’re trying to ask a bigger question, which is to say, is this a global reality that we want to continue living in? Because it could be any one of those nine countries that does this,” he continued. “It could be a country we don’t know about yet that has one of these weapons.”

Oppenheim noted “how fragile the system is, and so rather than ascribe blame to one bad guy, we wanted to really interrogate the larger reality.”

What does the president decide?

A House of Dynamite ends with the president having to make an impossible decision between letting the missile hit Chicago or authorizing retaliation, an action that could result in nuclear war.

The movie concludes before viewers find out which he chose. The president’s decision isn’t known, and even Elba is unsure what happens after the credits roll.

“Unfortunately, it is the sacrifice of having 10 million people die versus the entire planet would’ve probably been his decision,” the actor told Screen Rant. “But I don’t know. I don’t know. We didn’t want to know the answer.”

What happens to the president?

A House of Dynamite ends with the president on the Marine One helicopter as he reads out the verification code needed to launch a nuclear missile.

The person on the other end of the phone awaits his orders, but his decision is never shown.

“I want audiences to leave theaters thinking, ‘OK, what do we do now?’ ” Bigelow told Netflix. “We really are living in a house of dynamite. I felt it was so important to get that information out there, so we could start a conversation.”

“That’s the explosion we’re interested in,” she added. “The conversation people have about the film afterward.”

Does the missile hit Chicago?

It is unknown whether the missile actually hit Chicago or not.

According to Bigelow, the ambiguous ending was intentional, “in order to start a conversation.”

“Let the audience have a moment to decide what ending they want,” the Oscar-winning director said at the New York Film Festival.