Statue Season: Explaining the Netflix Oscar Problem

A House of Dynamite, the new thriller from Kathryn Bigelow, debuted in theaters this past weekend. Starring Rebecca Ferguson and Idris Elba, the film follows the immediate aftermath of an unknown country firing a nuclear missile toward the United States and traces the military’s attempt to stop the missile and the White House’s decision to retaliate (or not). It’s the kind of suspenseful, political fare that’s been a mainstay at the Oscars since war films like Wings and 1930’s All Quiet on the Western Front took home a couple of the first Best Picture trophies. And Bigelow herself has directed some of the genre’s biggest awards players this century with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, and the trades have predicted that A House of Dynamite could follow in those footsteps.