A new horror film, Iron Lung, released last weekend, earning $17m at the US box office. Written and directed by YouTuber Markiplier, who invested $3m of his own money into making the film, it adapted from an indie video game. The unlikely success comes as a surprise, with critics not exactly praising the film. However, its release was largely driven by fan enthusiasm, with Fischbach promoting the film to his millions-strong audience and fans petitioning cinemas to show it. This modern model of self-financing and distributing a film offers an opportunity for budding filmmakers in current industry conditions where traditional studios are less prominent due to on-demand releases.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/feb/06/how-an-indie-movie-distributed-by-a-lone-gamer-broke-the-us-box-office