Iron Man 3 features the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. It is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first major release in the franchise since last year’s smash hit crossover film The Avengers. Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, which is based on the ‘Extremis’ comic book story arc written by Warren Ellis.

Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, serves as executive producer, along with Kevin Feige. Downey returns as the title character, along with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, and Favreau as Happy Hogan. Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, and Ben Kingsley round out the film’s principal cast, while child actor Ty Simpkins as ‘Harley’ nearly steals the show.

Iron Man 3 has already earned $242 million outside of North America before its U.S. release. It earned $13.2 million in its opening day from 12 countries and set opening-day records in the Philippines and Taiwan, and scored the second-biggest opening day in Argentina. The film produced the highest grossing weekend ever in Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, and was the biggest opening ever for a Marvel movie in Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines and Malaysia.

Following the events of The Avengers, a haunted Tony Stark has obsessively built several Iron Man suits in his mansion, causing friction with his girlfriend, new Stark Industries chief Pepper Potts. In a flashback to New Year’s Eve 1999, Stark, with his scientist paramour Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), arrogantly avoids crippled scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who wants Stark’s backing in his endeavor Advanced Idea Mechanics

(AIM). In present-day America, a string of bombings by the terrorist Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) has left intelligence agencies bewildered at the lack of forensic evidence.

Without giving the plot away, there are numerous references to the classic sci-fi favorite number ‘42’ and parts of the story take places in rural Tennessee, where Stark teams with Harley, a precocious 10-year-old boy. James Rhodes (the former War Machine) is now rebranded as the Iron Patriot, and eventually joins Stark and Potts in a phenomenal showdown against an awesome villainous crew on a massive set. After the battle, Stark makes some radical changes as a sign of his intention to devote more time to Potts. In a post-credits scene, there is a hilarious reveal as to how the narrative has unfolded—be sure to wait for it throughout the lengthy credits roll.

Iron Man 3, shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China and Los Angeles, and converted to 3D in post-production, is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.