"What the f***" is Markiplier's Iron Lung movie doing earning $8.9 million in one night, wonders Iron Lung dev

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"What the f***" is Markiplier's Iron Lung movie doing earning $8.9 million in one night, wonders Iron Lung dev News By Ashley Bardhan published 2 February 2026

Call it the reverse Return to Silent Hill effect

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At least one thing in the world is at peace: the oil and water of Christophe Gans' Return to Silent Hill and the new Iron Lung adaptation directed by YouTuber Markiplier has seemingly brought video game movies to a state of total equilibrium. Return to Silent Hill is, regrettably, a box office disaster, while Iron Lung made so much money on its opening night, not even its creator could believe it.

Developer David Szymanski writes on Twitter, "What the fuck." According to Variety, Iron Lung nearly tripled Markiplier's self-funded $3 million budget in one night, earning $8.9 million on January 30.

The horror movie has since gone on to massacre the rest of its competition, amassing $17.8 million in the US over the weekend and $21.7 million worldwide. Its domestic box office ranking – Iron Lung sits leisurely in second place – is only rivaled by Sam Raimi's desert island showdown Send Help, which has so far amassed $28.1 million globally.

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• Markiplier's Iron Lung scores impressive $17.8 million US opening weekend, but it was beaten to the top by Send Help
• Return to Silent Hill is a disaster, and proof that Hollywood still hasn't figured out how to adapt horror video games
• Return to Silent Hill is an early contender for 2026's worst movie – with a 6% Rotten Tomatoes score

Someone on Twitter asks Szymanski how it feels for Iron Lung to rank so highly, and he responds, "Dreamlike." Indeed, I would have never imagined Szymanski's hour-long, $8 game about commanding a submarine through an ocean of blood could have ever turned into a two-hours-long, multimillion-dollar film with its own commemorative bloody popcorn bucket. But now that there are so many megacorporations putting both indie games and movie theaters at risk, I'm glad it did.

A Return to Silent Hill director's cut exists and would allow the horror movie "room to breathe," says director of the 20% Rotten Tomatoes flop.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES PC Gaming Nintendo Switch PS5 Android Platforms Nintendo PlayStation Mobile Gaming Ashley BardhanSenior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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Logout Read more Markiplier's Iron Lung scores impressive $17.8 million US opening weekend, but it was beaten to the top by Send Help    Return to Silent Hill is a disaster, and proof that Hollywood still hasn't figured out how to adapt horror video games    Return to Silent Hill is an early contender for 2026's worst movie – with a 6% Rotten Tomatoes score    Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"    A Return to Silent Hill director's cut exists and would allow the horror movie "room to breathe"    Despite landing 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, Return to Silent Hill director says he wants to make more    Latest in Horror Games Silent Hill 2 remake studio's new teaser isn't a comeback for infamous PS2 horror game Rule of Rose – "Nice guess"    '90s horror game revival on Steam stuns Nightdive lead who's "been tracking down these rights for almost a decade"    GOG lead says removing cult horror game Devotion from the store is a situation that "remains difficult to reflect on"    Alan Wake 2 studio defends Epic CEO as Larian publishing lead questions "millions in lost revenue" from no Steam version    GOG co-founder says "curation is the privilege" of stores like Steam, but selling banned horror game Horses was worth it    Pathologic 3 dials into the psychological horror that makes this the most punishing franchise ever    Latest in News Call of Duty is cracking down on cheaters ahead of season 2 with "major" anti-cheat measures for ranked play    "What the f***" is Markiplier's Iron Lung movie doing earning $8.9 million in one night, wonders Iron Lung dev    Marathon is '90s futurism, according to Bungie lead, who says the shooter was "deeply inspired" by wild PlayStation ads    Dragon Quest visionary Yuji Horii is getting his own RPG-style manga detailing his journey to creating the iconic JRPG    The Elder Scrolls fans fire back at Skyrim lead's fightin' words: Morrowind "manages to hold up better than Skyrim"    Arc Raiders' second Expedition window ends in just 23 days, but Embark still hasn't told players what they need to do    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

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