On This Day

The Hurt Locker premiere

September 4th 2008

15:47 4 September 2024

The premiere of 'The Hurt Locker' took place at the Venice International Film Festival on this day in 2008. Kathryn Bigelow's film received a 10 minute standing ovation at the end of the screening. 'The Hurt Locker' follows a US army bomb-disposal team during the Iraq war and the psychological trauma they experience during and after the stress of combat.

The movie was not picked up for release in US theaters until June 2009 where distributors were nervous about its potential, following poor performances at the box office by previous Iraq War films.

The movie opened to universal acclaim and grossed nearly $50 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million. 'The Hurt Locker' was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning six including Best Picture and Best Director for Bigelow, the first time both Oscars went to a film directed by a female.