Markiplier Cries After Self-Financed Film Debuts to $21 Million Globally

YouTuber Markiplier got emotional about the remarkable turnout for “Iron Lung,” a very independent filmmaking adventure that debuted at No. 2 in North America with $17.8 million from 3,015 theaters.

“Iron Lung” also earned $3 million internationally for a global tally of $21.7 million. This opening weekend is notable because “Iron Lung” wasn’t far behind a major release from Disney — Sam Raimi’s thriller “Send Help,” which launched to $30 million — but without mainstream resources. Markiplier (whose real name is Mark Fischback) self-financed and distributed “Iron Lung,” which reportedly cost $3 million to produce. He also wrote, directed and stars in the film, a post-apocalyptic video game adaptation about a fugitive who has to scavenge natural resources in an ocean of blood after a rapture. 

“I’m tearing up at the beginning of this,” Markiplier said during a YouTube livestream on Sunday night. “It’s been a bit of an emotional day in the best way possible. So I’ll first say, ‘Thank you guys so much.’”

“Iron Lung” won’t be playing in many theaters next weekend, Markiplier shared during the video that he titled “ACTUAL EMERGENCY MEETING!!” Even with a theatrical run that’s much shorter than most movies, “Iron Lung” will be hugely profitable for Markiplier and cinema owners, who share the revenue from ticket sales.

“I personally don’t care about the numbers, other than, ‘Woohoo, success.’ I’m going to be able to give the crew a big bonus. That’s awesome. I’m not a big studio. So the split with the theaters is basically 50-50. It’s really cool because everybody wins.”

Markiplier shared that “Iron Lung” was originally scheduled to play in just 50 theaters before exhibitors got on board and booked the movie in venues all around the country. He fielded calls about a major studio helping with theatrical rollout before moving forward with the decision to self-distribute.

“It’s kind of a hero moment to showcase indie filmmaking is possible,” he said.

Since “Iron Lung” is only slightly behind “Send Help” on domestic box office charts, Markiplier urged any curious fans to check out the film before the weekend ends in hopes of toppling Raimi’s release from the No. 1 spot.

“If you didn’t have any plans tonight, or — just because movies are so confusing, you have to watch it twice — maybe you could see it,” he said. “I’m almost hesitant to ask this, but I think it might be a big win for independent filmmaking. It’s not to shut out Sam Raimi. It’s kind of to shut out Disney for winning [the box office], like, 10 weeks in a row. Maybe they could only win nine weeks in a row, the one weekend that ‘Iron Lung’ is here. If that could inspire someone to keep making films, that’d be pretty cool. And maybe it could open up a door for other people that do their projects independently and know that there could be success in it.”

Meanwhile, Markiplier shared his own plans for Monday. “I’m going to watch ‘Send Help.’ I want to watch it so bad.”