Iron Lung and Its Impact on Hollywood Movies
As most people know, Mark Fischbach, aka YouTuber Markiplier, has made a movie, a movie that has surpassed all expectations. His movie is called “Iron Lung,” and it’s based on a game of the same title by David Szymanski. For a basic rundown of the movie, an unnamed convict navigates a rusty submarine, nicknamed the Iron Lung, through a desolate moon, which is an ocean made out of blood.
The movie came out on January 30, 2026 and the impact it’s had on Hollywood is unmatched. In just two weekends alone, it’s made over 11 times a return on its budget. Fischbach only spent $3 million on this film, and it’s made over $35 million in the time it’s been out.
This may be his first big film, but it’s not his first time in the filmmaking role. He’s done a couple of YouTube short films, such as “A Date with Markiplier,” “In Space with Markiplier,” “Who Killed Markiplier?,” and “A Heist with Markiplier.” He’s had a few roles in voice acting. He’s been the voice actor for the YouTube series “asdfmovie” Episodes 8 and 9, the Cartoon Network show “Villainous,” the podcast/TV series “The Edge of Sleep,” and the game “Mewgenics.” He also hosts two podcasts, “Distractible” with his friends Bob Muyskens and Wade Barnes, and “Go! My Favorite Sports Team” with Tyler Scheid.
Fischbach’s plan with this movie was to release it in around 50 theaters, for one weekend. After all, he didn’t have a studio distributor for the movie he directed, produced, and starred in. He also didn’t advertise the movie that much; he primarily used his YouTube channel to spread the word. His fans, however, wouldn’t let him do something of this level, and not have it be known to people. They called their theaters, and soon enough, “Iron Lung” was shown in over 4,000 theaters. After the first weekend of the movie’s release, Fischbach released an emotional video about the success of the movie, how this wasn’t how he expected this movie to fare, and said with the enormous return he got on the movie, he was going to be able to give his crew “a big bonus.”
It is safe to say, the movie was a huge success. Although, maybe not to critics. The movie ended up getting a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb, and a 4/10 on IGN. While critics might not have liked the movie very much, the audience reviews were overwhelmingly positive. This actually isn’t the first time this has happened, where critics have a bad rating on a movie, but the audience loved it. This has actually happened with the “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” movie. That movie only got a 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 5.2/10 on IMDb, and a 3/10 on IGN, but as stated, the audience reviews were great, saying it was “a fun, scary, and lore-heavy experience.”
Some fun facts about the production of “Iron Lung” are that this movie has already broken a record. This movie holds the record for the most fake blood ever used in a movie. This record was previously held by the 2013 remake of “Evil Dead,” which used about 50,000-70,000 gallons. Fischbach used a total of 80,000 gallons of fake blood for “Iron Lung.”
Another fact about the movie is that the day after its release, January 31, and February 1, the movie was taken off the charts completely. It was back on Sunday, and the issue was dismissed as “a glitch” that removed the movie from the charts right after it became the number 1 movie in America. But Fischbach wasn’t upset about it. He made a post joking that they took it off the charts, but he wasn’t mad. On Monday, February 2, he started a livestream showing people the “unhidden” results, and all of Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday, “Iron Lung” was the number one movie in America. For a couple hours on Sunday, the movie dropped to number two, propelling Sam Raimi’s “Send Help” to the top, but “Iron Lung” regained the top spot after. Fischbach mentioned this on his stream, and celebrated being the “two-time number one.” On this stream, he also celebrated getting renewed for a second weekend in the theaters.
The amount of fake blood used in the movie had sent Fischbach to the hospital (too much blood got in his eyes). Also, shortly after the first trailer was released, the Titan submersible implosion happened, similarly following the film’s premise. For the main sound effect, Fischbach used a Theragun (massage gun) against a sheet of metal. And finally, Markiplier isn’t the only famous name in the cast. His wife, Amy Nelson-Fischbach, helped him direct the movie as creative producer, and, while it’s a small role, fellow YouTuber Jacksepticeye (Seán McLoughlin) did have a part in the film. Some other features in the end credits of the movie include Mark’s dog, Chica, and an In Memoriam of his wife’s dog, Henry. He also featured his editor, Lixian.
Overall, Markiplier’s first-ever movie, “Iron Lung” was a massive success, and, to some, an absolute masterpiece.