RALEIGH, N.C. (May 1, 2013)— With Friday’s arrival of Iron Man 3 as summer’s first must-see movie, North Carolina becomes summer’s must-see state.
Filmmakers transformed coastal Wilmington, small-town Rose Hill and suburban Cary into California, Tennessee, Florida and even Afghanistan in the high-tech adventure, which opened overseas to rave reviews and record-smashing box office receipts. And as the movie was being shot, the stars found their way to first-rate restaurants and other attractions that boost the state’s appeal.
To help travelers find the scenery where fast-paced action unfolds, the North Carolina Division of Tourism has created a trip planner that identifies key locations and places visited by Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. You can find it at VisitNC.com/ironman3.
Opening April 24 in 42 international markets, Iron Man 3 grossed $195.3 million and set records in Argentina, Indonesia, Hong Kong and other countries. Echoing widespread praise for Downey and director Shane Black, one critic called it “the best Marvel Studios film to date.” Other reviewers delighted in the humor and plot twists and were impressed by spectacular visuals. The Hollywood Reporter alluded to a fixture on the Wilmington landscape by saying that “the climax takes full nocturnal visual advantage of a giant mechanized shipping port.”
Iron Man 3 joins a list of more than 800 movies and TV series to be shot in North Carolina, a top choice for filmmakers for three decades. A flurry of recent projects heightens interest in travel destinations across the state, among them Charlotte (Homeland, Banshee), Wilmington (Revolution, We’re the Millers, Under the Dome), Southport (Safe Haven) and the Asheville area (The Hunger Games). Those titles become part of the tapestry of credits that includes Blue Velvet, Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Matlock, Last of the Mohicans, The Fugitive and Bull Durham, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on June 15.
Find more about North Carolina’s cinematic beauty at VisitNC.com.
MPAA report shows Iron Man 3‘s financial impact on N.C.
U.S. box office returns for Iron Man 3 won’t be in until this weekend, but a new analysis released Tuesday (yesterday) shows the film’s financial impact on North Carolina’s economy was a success. According to the Motion Picture Association of America, the movie, which filmed in North Carolina between December 2011 and December 2012, resulted in $179.8 million and 2,043 jobs in the state. Spending associated with the film involved more than 700 vendors in 84 communities statewide.
“These findings are just the latest evidence of the economic benefit that film and television production has meant for North Carolina,” said Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO of the MPAA. “Thanks to a reliable and refundable production incentive, North Carolinians have been able to reap the benefits of direct spending and job creation across the state. Marvel’s Iron Man 3, like so many productions that choose to shoot in North Carolina, generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for local businesses in dozens of communities and thousands of jobs for North Carolina workers.”
Iron Man 3 received $20 million in support through state tax incentives. This investment by the state resulted in the following economic benefits:
- $8.99 in economic output for every dollar of tax credit received by the production.
- $6.50 in Gross State Product for every dollar of tax credit received by the production.
- 102 full-time equivalent positions for every $1 million in tax credit received.
- $5.20 in labor income for every dollar of tax credit received by the production.
In addition, several of the businesses hired directly by the production have reported the film had a significant effect during the filming period. For example, Master Craftsmen Services, a furniture restoration company, said Iron Man 3 represented 10-15 percent of the company’s business the year in which filming occurred; Tidewater Storage Trailers reported that roughly 10 percent of its business was generated by the production of Iron Man 3 in the first six months of 2012.
Read the full report here.