How a YouTuber’s DIY movie release beat Hollywood at its own game.
Mark Fischbach topped the box office on the opening weekend of his film independent film, Iron Lung. The film was self-distributed and funded by Fischbach, thanks in large part to the 38 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, Markiplier:
The film is an adaptation of one of the games featured on Markiplier’s gameplay channel:
The Iron Lung trailer, naturally released on his channel, racked up 5 million views in its first two days:
His audience’s phenomenal response led to distributors picking up the film, increasing the number of theatres it opened in from 60 to 1,578:
For more on the production and release of Iron Lung, check out Markiplier’s Q&A with Deadline.
Further Viewing
If you aren’t one of his 38 million subscribers, here’s a catch-up to who Markiplier is from a few years before Iron Lung (via Wired):
Fellow YouTuber-turned-film director, David F. Sandberg, whose films include Annabelle: Creation (2017) and Shazam! (2019), shares his personal tips for Communicating Your Vision as a Director…
… which is just one of the examples in our look at how directors create and use pitch decks to communicate their movie ideas: