Thankfully, we don't often see these in real life! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable, effective, and devastating nuclear bomb explosions in movies. Be warned, this list is full of spoilers.
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00:00Are we saying there's a chance that when we push that button, we destroy the world?"
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable, effective,
00:10and devastating nuclear bomb explosions in movies.
00:13Be warned, this list is full of spoilers.
00:15I don't know exactly how to put this, sir, but are you aware of what a serious breach
00:19of security that would be?
00:20I mean, you see everything!
00:23Number 30.
00:24The Crazies
00:25A virus causing people to commit acts of depraved violence spreads through a small town.
00:29Two survivors, David and Judy, escape in a truck just as the government unleashes a nuclear
00:33weapon on the town in hopes of containing the virus.
00:36The explosion's massive.
00:37Anything?
00:38No.
00:39Though the CGI effects may leave a little to be desired, the ensuing dust form and mushroom
00:53clouds are really effective.
00:54Some may want to dock some points for accuracy, since the characters seem to be unharmed by
00:59looking directly at the flash, but all-in-all, it's a really well-done climax.
01:02Sorry, honey.
01:05Number 29.
01:06Empire of the Sun
01:07Steven Spielberg's moving film about a British boy imprisoned in an internment camp in China
01:11only briefly touches on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
01:15As young Jim Graham watches over the dead body of his fellow prisoner, he sees the sky
01:19set alight.
01:20I saw it.
01:21I saw it.
01:22A white light.
01:23I thought it was Mrs. Victor's soul going up to heaven.
01:31A flash from the bombings of Japan some hundreds of miles away soars across the sky above him.
01:36He seems to interpret it as something otherworldly, perhaps godly.
01:39It's a beautiful and unexpectedly serene representation of the bombings.
01:42Jim doesn't know what it is until later.
01:44We only see what he sees, a beautiful wave of light shooting across the sky.
01:49Atom bomb.
01:50It was like a white light in the sky, like god taking a photograph.
02:01Number 28.
02:02Countdown to Looking Glass
02:03Told entirely through a fictionalized news broadcast, this HBO TV movie from 1984 takes
02:08place on the brink of a third world war.
02:10The broadcast covers increasingly tense global relations as alliances and communication breaks
02:15down and militaries advance on one another.
02:18We have no confirmation that nuclear weapons have been used.
02:21You're telling me that mushroom cloud out there is a conventional weapon?
02:22Who has release authority in this group?
02:23Whose death charge was that?
02:24Nick, honest to god, I just don't know.
02:31A correspondent reports live from the field when a huge flash explodes.
02:34The anchor can only listen as the reporter covers what we know will be his last story.
02:39Without the benefit of seamless special effects, the movie relies on the breakdown of technology
02:43to communicate the helplessness and horror that would come with a nuclear war.
02:47Reasonable people, once they've looked the devil in the face, aren't going to shake hands
02:50with him.
02:51What do you think?
02:52Well, without that constant hope, I guess the human race wouldn't have got this far.
02:58Number 27.
02:59The Return of the Living Dead
03:00A sequel to the Grindhouse classic Night of the Living Dead, the zombies in this 80s-tastic
03:04flick are generally figures of comedy more than anything else.
03:07I thought you said if we destroyed the brain, it'd die.
03:11It worked in the movie!
03:12Well, it ain't working now, Frank.
03:13You mean the movie's live?
03:15Even a nuclear bomb detonation is played for some sick laughs.
03:18When a toxic gas causes an epidemic of reanimated brain-eating corpses, the government eventually
03:23does the sensible thing.
03:24It's weird.
03:25These people seem to say they've been waiting for this to happen.
03:27Apparently they've got some sort of contingency plan to deal with it.
03:31Well, that's great!
03:32What is this plan?
03:34They nuke the town and everyone in it.
03:35Every character we've come to know and love is annihilated almost instantly.
03:39It may be in line with the movie's irreverent anti-establishment themes, but even if you're
03:43prepared for it, it's still a real downer.
03:45Number 26.
03:46The Peacemaker
03:47While some movies draw out the effects of the initial explosion, this George Clooney
03:50political thriller is almost shockingly efficient.
03:53Khodorov, a traitorous Russian general, arranges a train collision, which will detonate a stolen
03:58nuclear warhead.
03:59A couple in rural Russia, hearing the train crash, stumble out into the night.
04:03In a flash, the bomb explodes.
04:04A white light, then a wall of fire engulfs the entire surrounding area.
04:08The couple represent the thousands killed in the blast.
04:11We don't linger too long.
04:12It's as simple as here one minute, and gone the next.
04:22Number 25.
04:23Damnation Alley
04:24In this post-apocalyptic thriller, the US suffers a crippling nuclear attack by the
04:28Soviet Union.
04:29We see the action first from the confines of a military base.
04:32The bombs are just streaks on a computer display, inching their way toward American cities.
04:37Multiple warhead strike confirmed.
04:39Retaliatory strike on advisement.
04:40Contact at 265, heading 85 degrees.
04:43They're unknown.
04:44Jesus.
04:45Then we see the destruction on the ground.
04:47Explosions erupt all over the country, sending eerie fire through the sky, as if the whole
04:51world is burning.
04:52Although the rest of the movie is relatively cheesy, the juxtaposition between the sterile
04:56environment of the military base and the reality of the bombs falling is deeply unsettling.
05:00Multiple strikes confirmed.
05:01Boston.
05:02Philadelphia.
05:03Trenton.
05:04Washington, D.C.
05:05Detroit.
05:06Pittsburgh.
05:07Number 24.
05:08Failsafe
05:09The Russians are watching their boards, trying to figure out who we're up to.
05:20If we can't convince them it's an accident which we're trying to correct by any means,
05:26we're going to have something in our hands that nobody bargained for.
05:30And only a lunatic wants.
05:31The bombing in this Cold War thriller is left mostly to our imagination.
05:34That's more than enough.
05:35When a computer error accidentally sends a group of American bombers on a mission to
05:39destroy Moscow, the president offers the only solution he can think of.
05:43If their attack on Moscow succeeds, he will order American planes to bomb New York City
05:47as penance to prevent a world war.
05:49He listens in horror as the phone line to Moscow goes dead with a loud, deafening beep.
05:53I can hear the sound of explosions from the northeast.
05:56The sky is very bright.
05:59He makes good on his promise.
06:02The flattening of New York is represented in a series of still images and fast zooms.
06:06Then only the sounds of explosions.
06:18Watching it now is shocking, and audiences in 1964 must have been horrified.
06:23Number 23.
06:24True Lies
06:25The stakes of James Cameron's zany spy thriller may be life and death, but the tone is a lot
06:29lighter than you might expect.
06:30Are we gonna die?
06:31Yep.
06:32I'd say it's working.
06:35Having saved her from the bad guys, secret agent Harry Tasker and his wife Helen share
06:39a celebratory embrace on the highway.
06:41In what is easily one of the most innocuous and fun nuclear detonations on this list,
06:45the nuke that goes off in True Lies serves as a romantic backdrop for their kiss.
06:49While in real life this probably wouldn't be as much of a shrug, that's what movie magic
06:53is all about.
06:54And with all the death and devastation on this list, at least it's memorable for something
06:57other than the destruction.
06:58You should be safe here.
07:10This is the wrong finger.
07:11Number 22.
07:12Fat Man and Little Boy
07:13Before Christopher Nolan turned his attention to the discovery of the atom bomb, this underrated,
07:18historical drama about the Manhattan Project dramatized the Trinity Tests.
07:22Paul Newman stars as General Leslie Groves, the officer who oversaw the project.
07:26Whatever gives you the sweats, keeps you up at night, whatever, all of that, belongs
07:35to the United States Army, or to me, if that makes you feel more comfortable.
07:42In its climax, the bomb is tested against a classical music score that lends an air
07:46of almost satirical levity to the proceedings.
07:49J. Robert Oppenheimer's mouth is blown open by the blast in an undignified and almost
07:53comical way.
07:54Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
08:06Then the reality sets in.
08:07The bomb is a success.
08:08The world is forever changed.
08:10Number 21.
08:11The Avengers
08:12I can close it.
08:13Can anybody copy?
08:14I can shut the portal down.
08:15Do it.
08:16No, wait.
08:17Stark, these things are still coming.
08:18I've got a nuke coming in, it's going to blow in less than a minute.
08:23This team really has their hands full.
08:25If they're not saving New York from an invasion of Chitauri, they're attempting to defuse
08:29a potential nuclear attack.
08:31Fearing the Chitauri invasion, the World Security Council launches a nuke at Manhattan.
08:37Director Fury, the council has made a decision.
08:40I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision,
08:45I've elected to ignore it.
08:46What results is pure action cinema.
08:48Iron Man intercepts the nuke and uses it to destroy the Chitauri mothership.
09:03The spectacle is fantastic, but what works best here is the emotion.
09:06Tony is fully aware of the danger and calls Pepper to say goodbye, but to no avail.
09:11Robert Downey Jr. is superb, conveying fear, anxiety, and eventual heartbreak with nothing
09:16but his facial expressions.
09:1820.
09:19American Assassin
09:20We've seen a ton of nuclear detonations on screen, but few that have occurred underwater.
09:26American Assassin tried doing something a little different, and it worked out wonderfully.
09:37After killing Ghost, Rapp drops the nuclear bomb into the water, and it goes off in a
09:41spectacular display.
09:42The nuke creates a massive hole in the ocean, causing nearby ships to break apart, and even
09:47generates an enormous tidal wave that engulfs everything in its path.
09:50This is great entertainment, and the idea of doing it in the water was fresh and ingenious.
09:5919.
10:01The Divide
10:02Most movies work their way up to a devastating nuclear attack.
10:06The Divide opens with one.
10:08As the film begins, New York City is slammed by numerous nuclear explosions.
10:12The image is a startling one.
10:13A large mushroom cloud rises from the impact zone.
10:16Dust billows through the streets, and the apocalyptic yellow sky sparkles with lightning.
10:27As this is a low-budget movie, we don't see much of the attack itself.
10:30Rather, the movie switches focus to the immediate aftermath and panic.
10:34However, this is a welcome shift, as it horrifyingly depicts the fright and hysteria that accompanies
10:39a disaster.
10:40It's a haunting opening to a haunting movie.
10:5418.
10:55When the Wind Blows
10:56A heartbreaking piece of animation, When the Wind Blows follows a loving elderly couple
11:01who attempt to survive in a nuclear-ravaged England.
11:04The story takes place during the Soviet-Afghan War and presents an alternate reality in which
11:09England was hit by a nuclear bomb.
11:20Jim and Hilda hide in their makeshift shelter while the world-ending destruction occurs
11:24outside.
11:25Said destruction is both gorgeously animated and tragically evocative, depicting images
11:29straight out of a Cold War nightmare.
11:32The movie portrays a real-life fear through the magic of animation, and it does so in
11:36strikingly vivid fashion.
11:4317.
11:47Testament
11:48Nuclear movies were very popular back in the 80s as Cold War fears plagued the collective
11:52mind of America.
11:54Testament is one of those movies, depicting a small suburb in the midst of a nuclear event.
11:59The bombing scene is ingeniously filmed, favoring realism over cinematics.
12:16The Weatherly family experiences the bombing through the likes of distressed news anchors.
12:21The emergency broadcast system cut electricity and air raid sirens.
12:25This is a petrifying scene that scares the viewers through authenticity.
12:29This is how a good number of Americans would experience a nuclear strike, not through a
12:32massive mushroom cloud, but through sheer panic and a frightening disruption of everyday
12:37routine.
12:4316.
12:48Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines
12:49We thought that Terminator 2 gave the story a happy ending.
12:52We were wrong.
12:54One of the most surprising aspects of Terminator 3 is the incredibly gutsy and dour ending.
12:59John and Kate are sent to Crystal Peak, which is believed to be connected to Skynet.
13:02However, they quickly realize that it's a military fallout shelter and that they were
13:06sent there for protection.
13:17As they make this realization, the world is bombarded with Skynet's nuclear strikes and
13:21Judgment Day officially begins.
13:23It's a stellar twist that contains some shocking visuals and nicely places John on his predetermined
13:28path as a military leader.
13:3715.
13:43By Dawn's Early Light
13:44This movie was released in May of 1990 and as such is one of the last of the aforementioned
13:49Cold War movies.
13:51It's based on William Prochnow's novel Trinity's Child, which accurately depicts the consequences
13:55of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.
14:04The movie features a number of nuclear blasts, including one that hits the White House and
14:08blows out its windows.
14:10Another forces down the President's helicopter, which causes many to presume that he's dead.
14:14The limited TV budget does what it can with the visuals, but our imaginations are more
14:19than capable of filling in the nauseating details.
14:2714.
14:31Independence Day
14:32This over-the-top classic is fondly remembered for the alien attack sequence in which the
14:36UFO beams decimate numerous American landmarks, but it also contains some killer nuclear bomb
14:41sequences.
14:42In the first, a nuke is dropped on an alien spaceship above Houston.
14:52The explosion is magnificent, but it fails to destroy the ship.
14:55In the second, a nuke is deployed in the alien's mothership, and the entire thing erupts in
14:59a brilliant flash of blue lights.
15:01This is pure summer blockbuster escapism, featuring a nuclear bomb, some hilarious banter,
15:06and a masterfully filmed escape sequence that leaves viewers white-knuckled and smiling.
15:11It's a legendary ending to a legendary movie.
15:1613.
15:19Armageddon
15:20This is perhaps the Michael Bay-est of all the Michael Bay movies.
15:23A humongous asteroid is headed straight to Earth, so NASA trains a group of oil drillers
15:28to become astronauts, sends them into space, and has them drill a nuclear weapon into the
15:31core of the asteroid.
15:32It's ridiculous, and it's tons of fun.
15:47Harry stays behind to activate the nuke, saving the world just in the nick of time.
15:51The resulting explosion is awe-inspiring, and it elicits loud cheers from both the audience
15:55and the characters in the movie.
15:57But we are also wiping away tears as Harry's goodbye to his daughter Grace is enough to
16:01make even the toughest among us weak.
16:03It all combines to create a majestic and unforgettable climax.
16:1512.
16:18The Sum of All Fears
16:19For this Jack Ryan reboot, Ben Affleck took over the role from Harrison Ford and is tasked
16:24with stopping a fascist from starting a nuclear war.
16:27He has a bomb built in secrecy and drops it on Baltimore in an attempt to frame the Russians.
16:42The entire sequence is filled with great tension, and the resulting destruction is nothing short
16:46of harrowing.
16:47Thanks to the movie's high budget, we are given various spine-chilling sights.
16:51A hospital blows up and sends all the employees flying, cars are violently knocked off roads,
16:56and Jack's helicopter is thrown out of the air.
17:03It's a very impressive sequence, and it's arguably one of the best moments in the Jack
17:07Ryan franchise.
17:0911.
17:10Broken Arrow
17:11John Woo certainly knows how to direct an action sequence.
17:14Christian Slater plays Riley Hale, an Air Force pilot who must contend with John Travolta's
17:18Vic Deakins.
17:19Deakins is extorting the American government with two nuclear weapons.
17:23Hale recovers one of the bombs and stows it down an abandoned copper mine, where it
17:27proceeds to detonate.
17:35The plan mostly works as the explosion causes the ground to shake and ripple, and a vast
17:39sinkhole is created near the mine shaft.
17:42An approaching helicopter is also disabled, and it explodes in a gigantic fireball.
17:46The scene contains some accomplished filmmaking and stunt work, and Travolta chews the scenery
17:51as the bad guy.
17:52What's not to love?
18:0110.
18:02Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
18:04Whatever your thoughts on this scene are, this could very well be one of the defining
18:08moments of 2000s cinema.
18:10Indiana Jones is kidnapped by KGB agents, but eventually escapes and makes his way to
18:14a model town.
18:15This town is being used for atomic testing, and Indy is right on time.
18:25Fearing the imminent blast, Indy hides inside a lead-lined fridge and is sent hurtling through
18:30the air as the nuclear bomb strikes.
18:32The scene is filled with some terrific visual effects as the shockwave obliterates houses
18:36and sets nearby mannequins on fire.
18:39It looks suitably apocalyptic, especially when Indy climbs out of the fridge and gazes
18:43upon the towering mushroom cloud.
18:46Steven Spielberg knows how to bring the spectacle.
18:539.
18:59The Dark Knight Rises
19:00There's nothing like a good heroic sacrifice to make us tear up.
19:03Realizing that there's no stopping Bane's bomb, Batman decides to sacrifice himself
19:07for the good of Gotham.
19:08He attaches the bomb to the Batplane, touchingly reveals his identity to Gordon, and flies
19:13over the water to his presumed doom.
19:25Of course, the Bat isn't really gone, but that doesn't quell the power of the scene.
19:29Like all of Christopher Nolan's best work, this sequence combines breathtaking filmmaking
19:33with an undercurrent of rich emotion, and it makes for an amazing conclusion to his
19:37historic Dark Knight Trilogy.
19:468.
19:55The Wolverine
19:56This movie begins with a bang, quite literally.
19:58It opens in August of 1945, shortly before Nagasaki is decimated by the atom bomb.
20:04Logan is being held as a prisoner of war when Fatman is dropped on the city.
20:15The event is shown in explicit detail.
20:17We see Fatman quickly falling towards the ground, and we see the colossal explosion
20:22and mushroom cloud that results from it.
20:24The scene also contains some pulse-pounding tension, as the dust cloud quickly travels
20:28toward Logan and Ichiro, and forces Logan to take some drastic measures that leave him
20:33literally scarred.
20:42The visuals are sensational, as is the cacophonous sound design.
20:46Now this is how you open a movie.
20:497.
20:50Barefoot Gen
20:51While we're on the subject of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let's discuss Barefoot Gen.
20:54This is an anime from 1983 that follows Gen Nakaoka during the bombing of Hiroshima.
21:09The city is destroyed while Gen is at school, and what results is one of the most imaginative
21:13sequences ever seen in an anime.
21:16Animation can do wondrous and lushly imaginative things, and this sequence gets incredibly
21:20stylish.
21:21The visuals are boundless in their creativity, and they also pack a devastating emotional
21:25punch.
21:26The scene is unbelievably graphic and disturbing, conveying a sense of nightmarish surrealism
21:30that live action simply can't capture.
21:32You're going to need some eye bleach after seeing this one.
21:396.
21:43Godzilla King of the Monsters
21:45Godzilla has a long history with nuclear weapons and radiation, but we've never seen anything
21:49quite like this.
21:50Godzilla King of the Monsters ramps up the action to enjoyably absurd heights and features
21:55a highly memorable sequence involving a nuclear warhead.
21:59To bring Godzilla back to full HP, Serizawa sacrifices himself and quite literally detonates
22:04a nuke right next to the resting behemoth.
22:14The scene features some amazing sights and is suitably epic in scale, with Godzilla City
22:18and the underwater explosion being genuinely stunning.
22:21It looks cool, it sounds cool, and it's a definite high point of the Godzilla franchise.
22:345.
22:35Oppenheimer
22:36Christopher Nolan's bracing and cerebral biopic about the father of the atomic bomb culminates
22:40in the truly mesmerizing and utterly terrifying real-life Trinity Test.
22:44What sets it apart is how Nolan and company choose to capture the moment.
22:48The magnitude of this bomb can't be conveyed in just a simple light, flash, and a boom.
23:01This isn't just a bomb.
23:03They've opened Pandora's box.
23:04It's a monster, a destructive force unleashed on an unsuspecting world.
23:08We get the light, but we don't get the catharsis of the boom.
23:11We barely get any sound at all.
23:13Instead, the mushroom of fire and ash seems to go on forever, burning through space and
23:17maybe even time.
23:184.
23:19The Day After
23:30This apocalyptic television film from Nicholas Meyer is historic, capturing a 62% share and
23:36over 100 million viewers.
23:38Its subject matter was topical, and it touched on collective fears that hundreds of millions
23:42were experiencing.
23:53The attack segment is especially brutal, depicting a realistic sense of pandemonium and destruction
23:57that would occur with a nuclear strike.
24:00It is impeccably acted and shot, featuring high production values and plenty of unforgettable
24:04imagery.
24:05The visceral impact of the sequence lingers long after the credits have rolled, and it
24:09serves as a perfect representation of that distinctive Cold War paranoia.
24:183.
24:23Threads
24:24This movie aired on the BBC in September of 1984 and earned instant acclaim for its production
24:29values and harrowing realism.
24:31Threads accurately examines nuclear war and the resulting fallout, and the initial bombing
24:36scene is particularly distressing.
24:45Watching this can make viewers feel genuinely stressed, so perturbing are its visuals, chaotic
24:50editing, and sound design.
24:52Movies like this aren't designed for entertainment.
24:54This was a warning, and a superbly effective warning at that.
24:58Luckily, the horrors of this scene never came to fruition during the Cold War, but it was
25:02a very real and very unnerving possibility.
25:102.
25:16Terminator 2 – Judgment Day
25:17James Cameron is a masterful filmmaker, and this is arguably one of his greatest sequences.
25:22And that's saying a lot.
25:24Sarah suffers a nightmare in which she envisions Judgment Day.
25:28She's watching an innocent day at the park when a nuke strikes Los Angeles.
25:39The visual effects and cinematography throughout the scene are astonishing.
25:43The events are lit with an eerie and apocalyptic orange glow, and we watch in horror as buildings
25:48and vehicles are ripped apart like paper.
25:50And that's nothing compared to the unimaginable horrors back at the park.
25:54You can't imagine the terror of nuclear devastation, and hopefully this is the closest
25:58that we'll get.
25:59It's plenty close for us, thank you very much.
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26:271.
26:28Doctor Strangelove
26:29Okay, enough of the disturbing stuff.
26:32How about some comedy?
26:33Well, black comedy involving nuclear weapons and the end of the world, but comedy nonetheless.
26:40Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece ends in memorable fashion with Kong riding the hydrogen bomb
26:44down to its target.
26:45It's an iconic image, and also a gloriously bizarre one.
26:49Adding some further hilarity in the war room, the movie ends with a montage of real nuclear
26:53bombs destroying the world while Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again plays over the footage.
26:58It's one of the most startlingly impactful endings in movie history, and its sardonic
27:02qualities could only come from the genius mind of Kubrick.
27:15Which of these scenes still stays with you?
27:16Tell us about it in the comments.
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