<Li> $178.4 million (net) </Li> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $1.215 billion </Td> </Tr> <P> Iron Man 3 (stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three) is a 2013 American superhero film based on 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 film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Shane Black from a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley . In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark deals with posttraumatic stress disorder caused by the events of The Avengers, while investigating a string of terrorist attacks led by the mysterious Mandarin, and comes into a conflict with an old enemy: Aldrich Killian . </P> <P> After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau, who served as director, decided not to return, 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, which also uses concepts from the "Extremis" story arc by Warren Ellis . 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 . </P>

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