The domestic box office nearly witnessed an upset this past weekend, when YouTuber Markiplier‘s debut feature, Iron Lung, came close to stealing the number one spot from Sam Raimi‘s Send Help. The sci-fi horror film, based on the video game of the same name, eventually took second place, but it exceeded expectations, grossing $17.8 million. Send Help topped the list with a $20 million haul. The performance of the two films shows how Hollywood distribution is changing: a self-funded movie with little or no conventional publicity can challenge a studio film with an A-list director and major stars. The shock to the system delivered by Iron Lung is reminiscent of Five Nights at Freddy’s debut in 2023.
Both films were aimed at similar target audiences — a demographic that probably wouldn’t respond to the kind of marketing that has historically worked in Hollywood. For instance, Iron Lung has already overtaken the lifetime domestic box office haul of Gerard Butler‘s Greenland 2: Migration, which was released only a few weeks ago. Greenland 2 was distributed by Lionsgate and cost a massive $90 million. It had built-in awareness, thanks to the popularity of the first Greenland film on home video. And yet, it couldn’t crack the $20 million mark in its box office run. Iron Lung has managed to pass this milestone in four days flat. And it cost only a reported $3 million. The movie is performing along the lines of Terrifier 3, which had an unusual marketing strategy as well. Terrifier 3 made more than $50 million domestically after debuting with $18 million.
The YouTube-to-Filmmaking Pipeline Has Been Impressive
Iron Lung earned mixed reviews and is now sitting at a 44% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. But it’s clear that it has struck a chord with its core audience, who’ve awarded it a “Verified Hot” 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review, Collider’s Nate Richard wrote, “Iron Lung plays more like an experiment than an actual feature film you’d see on the big screen. That’s not a bad thing, as it makes it play out similarly to how the video game does (a point-and-click game).” A good benchmark for the movie to pass would probably be Talk to Me‘s $48 million lifetime haul. The horror film was also directed by YouTubers-turned-filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou. Iron Lung outperformed YouTuber Chris Stuckmann‘s debut feature, Shelby Oaks, in Thursday previews alone.
You can watch Iron Lung in theaters, and Greenland 2: Migration on PVOD platforms at home. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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January 30, 2026
- Runtime
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127 Minutes
- Director
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Mark Fischbach
- Writers
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Mark Fischbach
- Producers
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Will Hyde, Amy Nelson, Jeff Guerrero
Cast
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Mark Fischbach
Speaker #2 (Voice)
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