It stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien, and Kate Hudson.

Chief Electronics Technician Michael "Mike" Williams and Offshore Installation Manager James "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell are surprised to learn that the workers assigned to test the integrity of recently completed cement work are being sent home early, without conducting a cement bond log (CBL), at the insistence of BP managers Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza.

While Mike prepares the drilling team, including Caleb Holloway, Shane Roshto and Adam Weise, Harrell meets with Vidrine and persuades him to conduct a negative pressure test, which indicates the cement has not properly sealed the well from the high-pressure reservoir.

At first, the operation goes smoothly, but the cement job eventually fails completely, triggering a massive blowout that overpowers and kills Weise, Roshto and majority of the other drill team members.

With all the lifeboats full, Mike locates the emergency life raft, but it becomes separated from the rig before he and Andrea can board, causing the latter to suffer a panic attack.

Just as the oil in the well itself ignites and destroys the rig, the two jump into the water and are picked up by rescuers, who then ferry them to the Damon Bankston, where the surviving crew mourn their lost crewmen and say the Lord's Prayer.

Returned home, the workers reunite with their families in a hotel lobby; during which the parents of one of the missing crew members accost Mike, resulting in him having a panic attack.

The film ends with a series of clips showing the aftermath of the disaster, including testimony from the real-life Mike Williams and the revelation that Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza were the only two people prosecuted for their actions; both were charged with 11 counts of manslaughter.

The movie postscript reads: "The blowout lasted for 87 days, spilling an estimated 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

On March 8, 2011, it was announced[7][8] that Summit Entertainment, Participant Media, and Image Nation had acquired the film rights to The New York Times' article "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours",[4][9] written by David Barstow, David S. Rohde, and Stephanie Saul, and published on December 25, 2010, about the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill.

On acquiring the article to develop into a film, the president of Participant Media, Ricky Strauss said, This is a perfect fit for us–a suspenseful and inspiring real-life account of everyday people whose values are tested in the face of an impending environmental disaster.

On March 18, 2015, Gina Rodriguez was set to play a woman named Andrea Fleytas, who was on the bridge on board the Deepwater Horizon at the time of the blowout, and frantically tried to contact the Coast Guard.

[19] Kate Hudson was announced as a cast member in May 2015, and playing the wife of Wahlberg's character; her role was her first on-screen pairing with Russell, her stepfather, although they shared no dialogue in the film, only a hug.

[24] Deepwater Horizon had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, on September 13, where it received a standing ovation from audiences after the screening.

[29] In total, the film earned $20.2 million during its opening weekend, debuting at number two at the box office behind Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

[33] While most adult-skewing films would generally be made on a conservative budget in order to protect themselves financially, Deepwater Horizon was produced for $110–120 million (after tax rebates).

The site's critical consensus reads, "Deepwater Horizon makes effective use of its titular man-made disaster to deliver an uncommonly serious – yet still suitably gripping – action thriller.

[40] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing, "ruggedness and resilience counts for far more in the characterizations here than does nuance, and everyone delivers as required.

"[41] Mike Ryan of Uproxx praised the film's performances and ability to make audiences angry at BP: "I'll be honest, I didn't think we needed a movie about this subject.

"[42] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian praised Berg's direction as "admirably, uncharacteristically restrained...[He] stages the action horribly well, capturing the panic and gruesome mayhem without the film ever feeling exploitative.

[44] The film was praised for staying "remarkably close" to the actual events, though it did take some artistic liberties and did a poor job explaining why the blowout occurred.