Iron Lung has shocked viewers with a massive $21.5M opening weekend in theaters, following close behind Sam Raimi's new horror movie, Send Help, which has a much bigger budget and star power.
While I'm delighted to see two horror movies performing well, it's particularly notable that YouTuber Markiplier (real name Mark Fischbach) has achieved such incredible success, with huge box-office takings despite a comparatively small $3M budget.
Iron Lung was self-financed by Fischbach, who also directed and starred in the movie, so it's very much a passion project for him. It's based on the video game of the same name by David Szymanski, an independent game developer, who worked closely with Fischbach on the movie.
Both Fischbach and Szymanski were stunned by Iron Lung's success, and who could blame them? We've long ignored independent horror, and seen the genre at large snubbed at prestigious award ceremonies (I'm still bitter about The Substance's poor Oscars performance).
The video game Iron Lung was a hit among YouTubers and Twitch streamers, with the short horror game currently holding a 'very positive' rating on Steam. It's a first-person game in which you play someone welded into a tiny submarine nicknamed the 'Iron Lung', and are tasked with exploring an ocean of blood.
It's claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing, something the movie tries to emulate with its one-location setup and tight camera angles, trapping you with the protagonist for most of its runtime.
Iron Lung proves that audiences have a real appetite for the horror genre, and it seems to be growing bigger by the day. A self-financed movie by a YouTube star has become a sensation. And it shows that independent horror filmmaking should not be underestimated.
Iron Lung's success should not be ignored, despite the mixed reviews
Iron Lung has divided critics and audiences, and there's quite a difference between the two Rotten Tomatoes scores. Much like the Iron Lung, its critic score is sinking, and currently sits at just 44%. Meanwhile, audiences are much more enamored, awarding it 89%.
We could spend all day arguing about who is "right", and if there's a natural bias among general audiences who may be fans of Markiplier already, and an equal bias among critics who may not see YouTubers as "real filmmakers".
But that's not the point – the huge box office figures show that people want to support independent cinema, and that's the beautiful thing about all of this. Seeing Iron Lung getting more screenings gives me hope for the future.
As I mentioned, Markiplier's movie has even held its own opposite Sam Raimi's Send Help. Since Raimi is a highly established filmmaker known for works like The Evil Dead, it could've been easy for his movie to completely blow Markiplier's out of the water, but that didn't happen. They have both been a success, encouraging people to go to the movies and support the arts.
Independent horror is thriving right now. The movie Good Boy, starring Indy the Dog as its courageous protagonist, started out with a limited theatrical run and was gradually extended, but it still didn't get the attention it should've had, in my opinion.
Good Boy was financially successful too, with a budget of $70,000 and a box office of $8.7M. Stuff like this reminds me of Oren Peli's once independent Paranormal Activity, now a huge franchise, thanks to an unbelievable $194.2M box office result against its $215,000 budget.
We need to start giving independent horror a proper chance to succeed again, like we did with Paranormal Activity back in 2007 and now Iron Lung in 2026.
I would love to see more of these movies picked up by bigger theater chains going forward, and I hope that Markiplier's directorial debut has encouraged positive change to happen.
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