Real Steel is a 2011 American science fiction sports drama film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Matheson, which was originally published in the May 1956 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and later adapted into a 1963 Twilight Zone episode. The film features a former boxer (Jackman) whose sport is now played by robots. He must build and train his own robot with his son. Real Steel was in development for several years before production began on June 24, 2010. Filming took place primarily in the U.S. state of Michigan. Animatronic robots were built for the film, and motion capture technology was used to depict the rodeo brawling of computer-generated robots and animatronics, respectively. Real Steel was released by Touchstone Pictures in Australia on October 6, 2011, and in the United States and Canada on October 7, 2011, grossing nearly $300 million at the box office. It received mixed reviews, with criticism towards the plot but praise for the visual effects, action sequences, and performances of the cast. The film was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards. Plot In 2020, human boxers are replaced by robots. Former boxer Charlie Kenton owns the robot Ambush, until it is destroyed in a fight against a bull belonging to promoter and carnival owner, Ricky. Having bet money he didn't have with Ricky that Ambush would win, Charlie absconds before Ricky can collect. After the fight, Charlie learns that his ex-girlfriend died and he must attend a hearing deciding the future of their son, Max, a robot-boxing fan with nearly no contact with Charlie since his birth. Max's maternal aunt Debra and her wealthy husband Marvin want full custody. Charlie bargains to cede custody of Max for $100,000, half in advance, and Marvin negotiates that Charlie retain custody of Max for three months while Marvin and Debra go on vacation. Settling into a gym owned by Bailey Tallet, the daughter of Charlie's former boxing coach, Charlie uses the half in advance money to acquire the once-famous World Robot Boxing robot Noisy Boy. He and Max take Noisy Boy to Crash Palace, an underworld boxing arena run by his friend Finn, where Noisy Boy is destroyed against another robot boxer, Midas. While scavenging for replacements