Ava Alexopoulos
Hollywood has been shocked after a little self made movie Iron Lung hit the #1 box office by pulling $22 million worldwide the first weekend of its release. It was made on a $3 million budget and the popularity continued to grow as it surpassed bigger movies that were released around the same time.
The horror science fiction film released in thousands of theaters on January 30th was directed by popular YouTuber Mark Fischback (Markiplier). The film is based off of the 2022 indie horror game Iron Lung that Fishback played a few years prior and inspired him to create a movie out of it.
The film takes place in the future and follows the events after humanity is wiped out from an apocalypse called the Quiet Rapture. Markiplier stars as a convict named Simon who is exploring the blood ocean on a desolate moon inside a submarine called Iron Lung. The whole movie takes place in that one setting as we only focus on the protagonist trying to grasp answers, only to realize he;s not alone on this intense and claustrophobic journey.
Since Iron Lung was self-made, it showed success in independent and international films which resulted as a fresh bit of air to audiences. Studios often lack ideas and only stick to sequels, prequels or reboots in this day in age. This film proved that there is success in smaller productions and serves as a slap to the face to Hollywood. Unlike all movies, Iron Lung didn’t have any traditional promotions or marketing, but rather a trailer gaining the attention from Markiplier’s fan base of over 38 million YouTuber subscribers.
Iron Lung served as the #1 movie to hit theaters and beat out Send Help and Melanie that same weekend. At one point, it was suddenly taken off the charts and Send Help took its place. After Markiplier called out the box office, the film suddenly reappeared back to the charts and they claimed it was a glitch. However, audiences theorize that it was removed simply because it outnumbered a Hollywood-produced movie.
The success of this film is still a shock to many and gives hope for more independent films created by content creators. It proves that no matter how small a work of art is, it still has a purpose to be presented for its creativity and storytelling. Markiplier proved Hollywood wrong as the film continues to hold its place on the top of the leaderboard.
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