How Much Will Iron Man 3 Cost?

How is Marvel supposed to top the pull-out-all-the-stops amazingness of The Avengers' action scenes when the studio reverts to releasing solo films featuring Iron Man and the rest? This question has come up before, and we may now have an answer… Spend more money.

Marvel has always kept a tight rein on its budgets, bucking the Hollywood impulse to spend, spend, spend. While The Avengers production cost a reportedly not-small $220 million, there's no denying that the studio got ever penny's worth onscreen. But the previous Marvel films -- Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor -- were in the $140 million to $150 million range. The exception to this was Iron Man 2, which cost about $200 mill. (All budget numbers come from Box Office Mojo.)

Now, Latino Review has the inside word on Iron Man 3, which they say just got its budget bumped up a big $60 million from a rumored $140 million to $200 mill. That sounds like quite a hike, and it may be that the original $140 mill number was never accurate, but that said LR's sources are typically sound. As the site notes, "The Avengers did gangbusters and rather than count their crossover movies as separate, Marvel has decided The Avengers raised the bar for ALL Marvel movies. Namely, [director] Shane Black and the IM3 crew aren’t being asked to deliver a better Iron Man movie but THE BEST Marvel movie hands down."

Which, of course, isn't to say that money spent equates with quality. But certainly those visual effects scenes cost dollars, and one can't help but wonder how audiences would react to a another climactic action scene like the first Iron Man's rather reserved showdown with Iron Monger after they've had a taste of full-on Chitauri mayhem as in The Avengers.

Still, that said, knowing Marvel's spendthrift ways, it's hard to imagine them suddenly just throwing cash at all of their projects. And it must also be noted that this $200 million budget is actually not an increase at all on what was spent on Iron Man 2. Tony Stark is essentially the studio's flagship character. (There may also be a bit of keep-Downey, Jr.-happy in there as well.)

By the way, today also marks the first day of shooting on Iron Man 3 (production codename Caged Heat) down in Wilmington, North Carolina. They'll be at it through October.



Source : http://www.ign.com