Iron Lung scored big at the box office, with the sci-fi horror film earning $17.8 million in its opening weekend. It beat Malenia, Zootopia 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash. The only film that Iron Lung didn’t knock off its perch was Sam Raimi’s Send Help, which remained strong by raking in $20 million over the weekend.

Based on the 2022 video game of the same name by indie developer David Szymanski, the film follows a convicted criminal who, after an event known as “the Quiet Rapture” causes most humanity and the stars to disappear from the universe, is stuck in a welded-shut submarine and forced to explore a moon’s ocean of blood to look for resources.

Iron Lung’s success stems from many factors, but one that seems particularly significant to the film’s popularity is the man behind it: Mark Edward “Markiplier” Fischbach. Boasting over 33 million subscribers on YouTube, Fischbach is well-known for playing indie horror games and, with an audience as large as his, launching indie games into the limelight. Iron Lung is no exception, with the YouTuber showcasing the game on his channel back in 2022. Little did anyone know that it would inspire Fischbach to fund, direct, write, and act for the film.

However, there has been discourse surrounding Iron Lung. As shared in a video on X, Fischbach points out something odd is going on with the box office numbers throughout the weekend.

In the video, Fischbach points out Iron Lung’s position on Jan. 30, the Friday it debuted, at number one on the box office charts. He then points out that the film appears to have been delisted from the charts on Saturday and Sunday. At the time of writing, Iron Lung is visible again on the box office charts. However, fans were quick to attribute this mystery to the indie nature of the movie, and how big studios and distributors may be trying to sabotage independent productions. Markiplier’s fans had to call movie theatres en masse to push them to screen the movie in the first place, a decision that surely now they don’t regret.

Despite the movie’s brief disappearing act from the box office charts and mixed reviews, Iron Lung earned far more than its production budget, which was less than $3 million. Could this success follow Fischbach if he once again tries directing? It’s hard to predict, but the YouTuber is currently being praised for his brave commitment to this artistic pursuit.