'What the f**k': Iron Lung creator puzzled as Markiplier's film adaptation quadruples its budget in one day, beating out Melania and Send Help at the box office

If you're a fan of Iron Lung, the indie horror game from Dusk creator David Szymanski, you may want to get used to hearing the following five words: "You mean the Markiplier movie?" YouTube phenom Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach's long-awaited film adaptation of the 2022 sub sim has finally hit theaters, and it's already made an estimated $21.7 million globally, according to Deadline.

"What the fuck," came the blunt but understandable response from Szymanski on X. When Markiplier spotted that certain charts weren't displaying the movie's box office gross, Szymanski quote-reposted a thread discussing the observation with a Starship Troopers meme reading, "It's afraid."

When it first landed, it raked in a combined $12.5 million from Thursday previews and the Friday box office—that's over four times its estimated budget, which, as Forbes points out, is estimated to be just under $3 million. Not bad for a movie Markiplier wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in himself, based on a game that's about an hour long.

That game and that movie are about piloting a windowless submarine underneath an ocean of blood on an alien planet, taking photos to get a glimpse at the outside world. While Szymanski is probably best known for Dusk, one of the best boomer shooters around, Iron Lung is no slouch and probably lends itself better to film with its concise narrative.

But is that film better than watching Markiplier play Iron Lung on YouTube? PC Gamer senior editor Christopher Livingston has the answer for you, and while I won't spoil his conclusion, I will point out that all this hubbub is probably a good thing for videogames whether the movie is great or not.

It's nice to see a film adaptation of a game that isn't Mario, Sonic, or Minecraft do so well for itself—and without the direct aid of huge production studios or a cast overstuffed with A-list actors. If you're a TikTok-addled Zoomer or Gen Alpha looking to see where it all began, the reason for the season itself is on sale for just four bucks on Steam.