To start 2026, horror film Iron Lung erupted in theaters. Based on a 2022 video game of the same name, the project was started by YouTube star Mark Fischbach, Markiplier, who was also the main writer, director, and lead actor in the movie. Born in Milford, Ohio, Markiplier has gained 38 million subscribers since he started making content in 2012 and is known for his playthroughs of horror games including Five Nights at Freddie’s and Iron Lung. Markiplier posted 3 videos of his playthrough of the game, combining for over 25 million views. A movie adaptation was revealed to be in production by Markiplier in April of 2023 and was released to theaters on January 30th, 2025. Iron Lung became an immediate success in its opening weekend; however, it had to overcome impossible odds to find success.
Being completely financed by Markiplier, Iron Lung had a budget of around 3 million dollars. Comparatively, Iron Lung’s main competitor, Send Help by Sam Raimi, had a budget of 40 million. The small budget did not leave any room for traditional advertisement, so Markiplier relied on his YouTube channel for promotion. Furthermore, because Markiplier did not work with a major movie studio, he faced challenges with getting his movie played in theaters. The film was originally set to be released in 60 movie theaters, but Markiplier’s loyal fan base reached out to their local theaters, requesting the movie be shown.
The result was over 4000 movie theaters showing the film, including big named chains like Cinemark, and its play time was extended for another weekend. Iron Lung raked in almost 18 million dollars domestically with fraction of the budget. The film finished its opening weekend 2nd in the box office behind Send Help.
In a YouTube video titled “I didn’t think this was possible”, Markiplier emotionally explained the struggle that came with making this movie, which he is so passionate about: “It’s been so hard. It’s been so hard to juggle all of this for so long. I just never expected something like this.” Playing many major roles in Iron Lung’s production while producing YouTube content would be too much for most people, but Markiplier’s passion for the video game and its movie adaptation spread to fans who flocked to watch the movie in theaters.
However, some controversy came with Iron Lung’s box office performance. Markiplier made a TikTok explaining his confusion on why Iron Lung disappeared from The Numbers’ box office charts after being first at the start of opening weekend. YouTuber @penguinz0 posted a video titled “Hollywood is Scared”, explaining how big movie studios wanted to hide how Iron Lung was beating high budget movies in the box office: “It’s almost like these suits, these zombies at the top of the food chain probably don’t like that a YouTuber just came in there and ate their lunch.”
On Monday January 2nd, Iron Lung returned to the box office charts at No. 2. The Numbers released a statement explaining that Iron Lung’s success was not reported because they had not received an estimate for the film’s income until noon on Sunday January 1st, so it is unlikely Iron Lung’s disappearance was due to foul play from big movie studios.
Despite huge box office success, critics have had mixed reviews of the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, Iron Lung has a 59% approval rating from critics; on the other hand, casual fans have mostly been loving the 
film with an 89% approval rating via Rotten Tomatoes.
Undoubtedly, Iron Lung has a massive impact on the future of the movie industry. In many cases, big movie studios have been afraid to take risks with new movies, often relying on sequels and live action adaptations to bring in money. Iron Lung shows there is still room in theaters for passion projects from small studios and independent creators. This passion is what many feel is missing from modern movies.
Markiplier’s passion is what has drawn many people to his YouTube channel and Iron Lung: “I’ve just had a lot of myself put into this. A lot of myself, and I’m very happy. I’m very very happy and motivated to keep making things. I just have this desire to make things.”
Audiences do not want to watch high budget cash grabs that plague movie theaters; they love to see creators take a chance on projects with passion in them because that is what makes movies so special. Stories that audiences can cling onto with the same passion they were created with.
