Real Steel

Did You Know?

• The soundtrack features artists including Foo Fighters, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Limp Bizkit.
• Danny Elfman composed the score, which was released on November 8, 2011.
• As of 2024, director Shawn Levy has expressed interest in a sequel, and a series was reported in early development for Disney+ in January 2022.

Plot

In the 2020s, human boxing has been replaced by robot fighting. Former boxer Charlie Kenton loses his robot Ambush in a fight against a bull owned by promoter Ricky, and flees before paying his debt. Charlie learns his ex-girlfriend has died and attends a hearing about their 11-year-old son Max, whom he has never seen. Max's aunt Debra and her husband Marvin seek full custody; Charlie agrees to give up custody for money, but Marvin negotiates that Charlie keep Max for three months during their vacation. Charlie uses half the money to acquire the robot Noisy Boy, but it is destroyed at an underground arena. While searching a junkyard, Max discovers Atom, an obsolete sparring robot with a shadow function that mirrors movements. Charlie pits Atom against the robot Metro, and Atom wins. Max integrates Noisy Boy's voice command hardware into Atom, and Charlie's boxing experience helps Atom build a winning streak, leading to a WRB fight against champion Twin Cities. Charlie exploits a hitch in Twin Cities' right punch to win by knockout. Max then challenges the undefeated champion Zeus. After the fight, Ricky and his henchmen attack Charlie and rob him and Max, prompting Charlie to return Max to Debra.

Production

The original screenplay by Dan Gilroy was purchased by DreamWorks for $850,000 in 2003 or 2005. The project was among 17 DreamWorks took from Paramount Pictures when they split in 2008. Peter Berg expressed interest in mid-2009 but did not proceed. Shawn Levy was attached in September 2009, and Hugh Jackman was cast in November for a $9 million fee. Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider greenlit the project. John Gatins worked on a new draft of the screenplay in 2009, and Levy spent six weeks fine-tuning it with Gatins. Advertising company FIVE33 created a two-hundred-page 'bible' about robot boxing. Levy chose to set the film in state fairs and other Americana settings to evoke nostalgia. Filming began in June 2010 and ended by October 15, 2010, primarily in Michigan, including Detroit, the Renaissance Center, Cobo Arena, and other locations. Animatronic robots were built, and motion capture technology was used for the robot brawling.

Release

Real Steel premiered worldwide on September 6, 2011, in Paris at Le Grand Rex. Its United States premiere was on October 2, 2011, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The film was commercially released in Australia on October 6, 2011, and in the United States and Canada on October 7, 2011, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through the Touchstone Pictures label. The original U.S. release date of November 18, 2011, was moved earlier to avoid competition with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. It opened in 3,440 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, including 270 IMAX screenings, with over 100 IMAX screenings internationally. The first trailer was released in December 2010 and attached to Tron: Legacy; a second trailer followed in May 2011. DreamWorks collaborated with Virgin America to name an Airbus A320 after the film. Hugh Jackman appeared on WWE Raw on September 19, 2011, to promote the film. Jakks Pacific released a toy line, ThreeA released high-end figures, and video games were released for Android, iOS, PS3, Xbox 360, and as an arcade game.

Reception

Real Steel earned $85.5 million in North America and $213.8 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $299.3 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 60% approval rating from 233 critics, with an average rating of 5.91/10, and the consensus calling it 'a well-made Hollywood movie. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated it 3 stars out of 4, calling it 'a real movie. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it an A−, praising Levy's blend of people and computer-made imagery. Claudia Puig of USA Today criticized clichéd moments, while James White of Empire gave it 3 of 5 stars, calling it 'enjoyable family entertainment. The film was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards.