YouTube star Markiplier has confirmed that Iron Lung will continue to screen in theaters for another week and revealed plans to bring the film to physical media.
Iron Lung released on January 30, 2026 to resounding success at the box office, raking in over seven times its three million dollar budget to earn around $21M on opening weekend.
The self-funded horror film was Markiplier’s first foray into Hollywood, blossoming from a small screening in a smattering theaters throughout the US into a worldwide showing at major cinemas around the globe.
Iron Lung’s breakout victory has sparked a viral conversation regarding the potential of independent filmmaking in the sea of big-budget Hollywood projects… and it’s made such a splash that Mark is trying to keep it in theaters even longer.
Markiplier’s Iron Lung coming to Blu-ray & DVD
In a February 3 livestream, the YouTuber-turned-filmmaker revealed that his movie will stay in theaters “for another week,” so if fans didn’t get the chance to see it on opening weekend, they’ll still have a chance to experience the scares for themselves. The flick was only intended for a limited-time release, but thanks to fans’ interest, it’ll be staying on the silver screen for twice as long than what was initially planned.
He also announced plans to release Iron Lung on physical media, saying it will be available to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray at some point in the near future. This includes the ability to stream the movie online via rental or digital purchase.
“We’re still getting the wheels turning for you to get it at home,” he explained. “The whole translation thing is gonna take some doing. I have some plans on the way. But as far as getting it ready and packaged up for a home release with DVD and Blu-ray and having it be purchasable digitally or rentable, that is all being worked on. That is all being put underway.”
He went on to clarify that the “entire project” is still being worked on independently “the whole way through,” meaning that his own team is in charge of translating the film into different languages and distributing it onto these platforms.
Markiplier’s passion project exploded into a worldwide cultural phenomenon, sparking major media attention and predictions that Iron Lung could change the landscape of filmmaking as we know it. After all, it beat out the likes of Disney to become one of the top two movies in America, marking a massive achievement that left the YouTuber sobbing with gratitude and full of ideas for even more films in the future.
