Iron Man 3 (stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three) is a 2013 superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man and 2010's Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, which uses concepts from the "Extremis" story arc by Warren Ellis. The film stars Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley. In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark tries to recover from posttraumatic stress disorder caused by the events of The Avengers, while investigating a terrorist organization led by the mysterious Mandarin.
After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to write and direct the film. Black and Pearce opted to make the script more character-centric and focused on thriller elements. Throughout April and May 2012, the film's supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, and lasted through December 17, 2012, primarily at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina. Additional shooting took place at various locations around North Carolina, as well as Florida, China and Los Angeles. The visual effects were handled by 17 companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
Iron Man 3 premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on April 14, 2013. It began its release on April 25, 2013, internationally, and debuted in the United States one week later on May 3. The film was both critically and commercially successful, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide, the second highest-grossing film of 2013 overall, and the second-highest-grossing film at the domestic box office released in 2013. It became the 16th film to gross over $1 billion and currently ranks as the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time and the sixth-highest-grossing opening of all time. The film was made available for digital download on September 3, 2013, and released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 24, 2013.
