Markiplier needs no introduction. With almost 40 million subscribers, more than 5,000 videos, and over 23 billion views on his YouTube channel, Mark Fischbach has made quite the cultural splash in his 13 years of being on the internet.
So for those familiar with his past work — such as his Emmy-nominated choose-your-own adventure style project “In Space With Markiplier” — his new, full-length film Iron Lung is no surprise.
Iron Lung is a science-fiction horror adaptation of the indie video game of the same name. While the actual film has been both praised and criticized for its plot, pacing, and visuals, what strikes me most about Iron Lung is how Markiplier was able to achieve a full-length film with a theatrical release.
HOW IRON LUNG CAME TO BE
Markiplier first played through Iron Lung in May of 2022. Almost a year later in April 2023, he released the film’s teaser trailer. The film would be self-financed, directed, written, edited by, and starring Mark. The official trailer from October 2023 stated the film would be “coming soon to theaters,” but it would be another two and a half years before the release of the film.
So, what happened?
“The amount of work that I’ve had to put into Iron Lung recently has been probably more than any other project that I’ve had to do,” Markiplier stated in an April 2024 video. “In addition to having to learn so many different things that I thought I knew how to do.”
Although Mark had a small team working with him to create the film, it wasn’t clear when the movie would come out, and if it would get a theatrical release as promised. Fans were excited but weary about staying hopeful to see the small production on the big screen.
GETTING TO The Big Screen
Finally, in December 2025, the final trailer was posted with a link to advanced tickets in the U.S. But fans were still left unsatisfied with the amount of theaters: just 60.
So fans did what fans do best: they took to their computers, emailing theater companies and asking them to support an independent film production.
60 theaters turned into 1,578, and on its release day, Iron Lung showed in 4,161 theaters internationally. Although the film didn’t reach #1 during its first weekend, it maintained its position for Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, the majority of Sunday, and Monday.
Alongside this, Markiplier started a blood drive to celebrate the release, parking blood donation trunks in the parking lots of participating theaters to gather donations for those in need, attempting to break the world record of 37,018 donations in a single day.
Creative Inspiration
After Iron Lung‘s debut weekend, Markiplier took to his channel to react to reviews of the film. “Maybe [the success of Iron Lung] could open up a door for other people…to do their projects independently and know that there could be success in it.”
For me and many others, Markiplier’s success was not just random chance, or a far-away, feel-good fantasy. It was the result of hard, purposeful work, with strong creative intention. Though critics found fault with the deliberately slow pace the film takes, it’s clear that every shot had a person behind it, making the creative choices.
Originally self-financed at $3 million, Iron Lung has made a whopping $32.5 million in theaters. For so many independent creatives, Markiplier’s story is inspiring; in a world where large companies dominate the box office, it’s still possible to self-produce and see intense success.