United States

Generation Iron was released in 53 cinemas across the U.S. on September 20, 2013.^[2] The film expanded to reach over 100 cinemas in various areas of the country. The release of the film coincided with the 2013 Mr. Olympia, held at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas on September 28, 2013.^[3]

Canada

On October 7, 2013, Generation Iron opened for a one-night-only event in 21 locations across Canada.

International

The film had its European premiere at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival on November 10, 2013. The sold-out screening was held at the 650 seat Bremen Teater.^[4] The next day, it was announced that Generation Iron had secured distribution deals for Australia, Brazil, Germany, and New Zealand, with deals soon to be finalized with China, Finland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.^[5]

Box office

Generation Iron opened on September 20, 2013, with an opening weekend box office total of $245,000, making it the biggest documentary opening of 2013.^[6] It held its position as the No. 1 documentary in the U.S. at the box office for three consecutive weeks after its release.^[7] Its domestic total as of January 3, 2014 was $849,521.^[8]

Critical reception

Generation Iron opened to positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 80% approval rating based on reviews from 15 critics.^[9]

Ernest Hardy of The Village Voice gave the film a perfect score^[10] and called it "a gorgeous meditation on age-old existential concerns".^[11] The Los Angeles Times called Generation Iron "an intimate portrait of bodybuilders" and praised the film as being "compelling and energetic".^[12] Louis Black of The Austin Chronicle stated that the film is "really a triumph of intelligent, strategic filmmaking".^[13] Philip Martin, president of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, stated in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Generation Iron is not just a film for bodybuilding fans and that "like all good stories, this movie about bodybuilding is really about much more".^[14]

Generation Iron also received some mixed reviews. Nicole Herrington of The New York Times gave the film 2.5 stars and wrote, "For a documentary about extreme discipline, the filmmakers lack restraint: the movie, about 20 minutes too long, undercuts much of its own momentum."^[15] Nick Schager of The Dissolve expressed disdain for how the film "goes into absolutely no detail regarding the specifics of how [the bodybuilders] design their diets or their workout regimens".^[16] Film critic Tim Falkenberg of MXDWN praised the film for the same reasons, stating that "much in the way Ron Howard's Rush, released earlier this year, was about the competitors, not understanding Formula 1 competition, the documentary Generation Iron largely eschews educating its audience on the intricacies of its subject matter in favor of focusing on the competitors themselves".^[17]

Accolades

Top ten lists

• The Huffington Post film critic Jon Eig listed Kai Greene's performance in Generation Iron as his #1 moment in film in 2013.^[25]
• Inside Pulse listed Generation Iron #2 on their list of the top 10 films of 2013.^[26]
• Tribeca Film Institute listed Generation Iron as #6 on their top 10 documentary 'Power Rankings'.^[27]
• Indiewire reported Generation Iron finished 2013 as the #7 highest grossing documentary, finishing with $849,521.^[28]