Meet the millennial YouTuber whose horror movie is outperforming Melania Trump at the box office

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MGM Studios allocated $35 million to market Melania: Twenty Days to History, a documentary about the first lady—with $20 million dedicated solely to U.S. marketing. Yet the independently produced and self-funded film Iron Lung vastly outperformed the Melania documentary at the box office this weekend, using a minimal marketing strategy and relying on a large base of loyal subscribers.

The YouTuber, known by his alias , created Iron Lung, which brought in $18.19 million at the box office last weekend—over six times its reported $3 million budget. The film outperformed major studios, making more than twice the $7 million Amazon earned with the Melania film and finishing just behind Disney’s Sam Raimi-helmed horror-thriller “Send Help,” which took in $19.1 million domestically. 

Fischbach launched his YouTube career in 2012. The Hawaii-born creator was 22 at the time, studying medical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. As he’s shared publicly, after a tough final year of college—including a breakup, an adrenal gland tumor, being evicted by his mom, and losing his job—Fischbach started his YouTube channel as a way to cope. He chose the username Markiplier, under which he posted lively “Let’s Play” videos featuring survival-horror games. The channel grew quickly, and Fischbach left college to focus on YouTube, which has since evolved into an for the 36-year-old creator.

Iron Lung is an independent horror film centered on a convict who boards a cramped submarine, navigating an ocean of blood (using 80,000 gallons of fake blood) on a distant moon. After the film’s weekend debut, Fischbach went to his YouTube channel to deliver an emotional message to his fans. “Right now, this feels like a pivotal moment to show that indie filmmaking is achievable,” Fischbach stated.

Fischbach grew his audience as a solo act. When it was time to promote his film, he stayed true to that approach. The movie’s marketing was a grassroots effort that began with a YouTube video where Fischbach asked his fans to call local theaters to request the film. “If you want to see it, just ask your local theater if they can show it—be polite,” Fischbach told his fans in a November YouTube livestream. The film ended up playing in 3,015 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, compared to the 1,778 theaters that showed the Melania film.

The rise of the creator-led movie

Markiplier is the newest creator to use his social media influence to achieve mainstream success. He joins others like musical comedian and Australian YouTubers who have transitioned from social media to find success in the film industry. 

Marketing experts suggest that Iron Lung’s successful launch could change how studios approach marketing future films. Drew Mitchell, U.S. lead for the Edelman Gen Z Lab, told that studios might start turning to creators to attract larger audiences. “They’ll ask: ‘Are there creators or individuals we can collaborate with—either as cast or creatives? And how can we involve Gen Z directly in our marketing?’” he said.

Mitchell pointed out that traditional ad campaigns don’t resonate with young audiences. “The old top-down model no longer works for Gen Z,” he stated. Younger viewers have issues with traditional advertising—58% of Gen Z say they distrust traditional institutions. For them, multi-million dollar ad campaigns feel insincere.

“Iron Lung didn’t feel like a film being sold to audiences,” Mitchell said of the movie. “It’s more about a community deciding that something is worth seeing and paying attention to.”

In fact, today’s audiences trust influencers more than traditional ads or commercials: 59% say influencers impact their decisions before buying from a brand, compared to just 50% who cite ads or commercials, according to . “Influencers have a huge amount of trust and credibility,” Timothy Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, told . “It’s fascinating how much people trust those they watch on YouTube, TikTok, and .”

For Fischbach, his YouTube roots are a point of pride. “Where I came from allowed me to do what I do now,” he said in a livestream last Sunday. “And it will keep enabling me to do what I do going forward.”