YouTube CEO Neal Mohan praised Markiplier after his independently-funded film, Iron Lung, beat out its competition to become one of the top movies in America.
Iron Lung released on January 30 to overwhelming support from fans, earning seven times its budget of less than three million dollars to rake in $21 million at the box office over the weekend.
The movie, an adaptation of the 2022 hit indie horror game of the same name, was completely funded by Markiplier, who also wrote, directed, produced, and even starred in the film as its main actor.
For a debut movie with such a small budget, Iron Lung blew past expectations, earning an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Initially intended for small screenings at local theaters within the US, Iron Lung expanded to a worldwide showing at major cinema chains around the globe, leaving the content creator teary-eyed at how surprisingly successful his passion project had become.
Markiplier’s victory over the Hollywood elite has proven that independent filmmaking has a place with the big dogs of the industry, something that YouTube CEO Neal Mohan pointed out in a congratulatory message to the influencer on February 3.
YouTube CEO says Iron Lung could completely change Hollywood
Mohan shouted out the YouTuber on X, predicting big changes for the film business as a result of Mark’s achievements.
“Incredible to see YouTube creators like Markiplier holding the keys to their own production and distribution. This is the new era of Hollywood,” he wrote.
Markiplier has urged fans to continue seeing Iron Lung in theaters as long as they’re able, with hopes of showing his movie at film festivals and carving out a space for indie films within the crowd of big-budget projects dominating the space.
“I think it might be a big win for independent filmmaking,” he said in a February 1 live stream. “Maybe, if that could inspire someone to keep making films, that’d be pretty cool. And maybe if it could open up a door for other people to do their projects independently and know there could be success in it, I think that’d be pretty cool.”
While critics have been divided on Markiplier’s surprising smash hit, audiences have shown they love the claustrophobic horror romp, with us at Dexerto rating the film a sparkling 4/5 stars in our review.
