Theater tickets for the upcoming Iron Lung movie by YouTube star Markiplier have been selling out “in seconds”, and experts are predicting it could earn huge numbers in its opening weekend.
Based on David Szymanski’s indie game of the same name, Iron Lung has been self-financed, written, directed, executive produced, and edited by Mark Fischbach, aka Markiplier, who first announced the project back in 2023.
At the time, Fischbach – who also stars in the movie as a convict sent on a submarine mission after a catastrophic event called ‘The Quiet Rapture’ – said he wouldn’t budge on anything less than a theatrical release.
Now, his dream is being realized. After huge fan demand, Iron Lung was picked up by cinema giants AMC, Cinemark, and Regal, and it’s also scored an international release through the UK’s Cineworld.
Iron Lung movie could score a $9-10 million opening weekend
A new Deadline report has broken down the unprecedented success of Iron Lung ahead of its January 30 release, including predictions that it could earn around $9-10 million in its opening weekend.
The outlet’s box office editor, Anthony D’Alessandro, added that certain “distribution circles wouldn’t be surprised if it does double that.”
Adding to this, Western Film Services exhibition booking CEO Joe Garel revealed, “Showtimes were selling out within minutes of us putting tickets on sale in our theaters.”
This is particularly impressive given the fact that Iron Lung is also self-distributed by Markiplier, whose more than 38 million YouTube subscribers have effectively powered its marketing campaign through trailers, updates, and word-of-mouth.
D’Alessandro went on to note Iron Lung’s competition at the end of the month is Send Help, which is projected to make $14 million in its first weekend, a small difference when you consider it’s helmed by Sam Raimi and benefits from Disney’s marketing machine.
Iron Lung’s other competition is Shelter, a new action movie starring Jason Statham and distributed by Black Bear Pictures, which is looking at a potential $8-10 million opening.
Some experts are expecting Markiplier’s video game adaptation to do even better than those early numbers, especially now it’s expanded to a 2,500-theater release.
Another interesting finding is that presales are rumored to be more than $5 million, which is 30 times more than Damien Leone’s horror juggernaut, Terrifier 3, at the same moment in time.
But D’Alessandro recommended not to use Terrifier 3 as a comparison, stating, “When it comes to these heavy advance ticket sales for niche fan titles, quite often there isn’t any further expansion of the audience.”
Even so, with strong presales and an expanding theatrical release, Iron Lung is proving to be another win for independent cinema.
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