Markiplier's New Horror Smash Hit Gets Streaming Release Update After $49M Box Office Success

1 day ago 5

Markiplier as Simon gritting his teeth and looking back in Iron Lung

Published Apr 22, 2026, 8:45 AM EDT

Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Markiplier has explained when his horror movie hit comes home.

Now, in his latest YouTube stream, Markiplier has confirmed plans for a digital release of Iron Lung. He explained how he plans to release the movie digitally on YouTube for viewers to purchase and watch at home. However, his plans go even further than Iron Lung, wanting to create a system where YouTubers themselves can release movies on the platform for viewers to buy. He says the setup for this goal is in its "final phase," meaning the movie could be coming out sooner rather than later.

Check out what Markiplier had to say below:

The reason Iron Lung‘s digital release has been taking so long is because I’ve been taking the extra steps to work out this deal where I can become this aggregator so that other people can benefit from it. That’s the goal. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do. And there’s a lot of legal loopholes to do it, and there’s a lot of setup to do it.

But I’m on the final phase of setting that up. And that means that it’s almost ready. I’ll have the ability to get movies up for sale on YouTube.

Markiplier also confirmed plans for a DVD and Blu-ray release of Iron Lung. He explained that, when it comes to producing the film on physical media, he's going to have his own DVD and Blu-ray machine, making the copies of the movie himself so he can distribute them on his own.

The box office success of the 2026 horror movie opened the door for films based on Internet personalities, such as Markiplier, to become thrust into the mainstream. The film, which had a budget of $3 million, was originally only going to be released in select theaters, before demand for the movie increased enough that it earned a wider release. This helped bolster its box office, with the movie competing closely with Sam Raimi's Send Help. Its performance made the movie all the more noteworthy, especially since it didn't have as much mainstream advertising as other films it was up against.

Marikiplier looking toward the camera while covered in goop in Iron Lung

Markiplier's digital release plan not only opens the door for Iron Lung to get a YouTube release through his independent endeavors, also as a way for other YouTubers to release movies or big projects to the platform on their own terms. While YouTube has a Movies & TV section, a studio or someone to consolidate the film digitally is typically required. For Markiplier, he wants to create his own, releasing the movie without reliance on another company, while also acting as a liaison between YouTube and other creators who want to make their work purchasable on the platform.

Iron Lung is just the first of multiple YouTuber-led movies coming out soon. This includes the upcoming Backrooms film directed by Kane Parsons and based on his web series of the same name. There's also a Bloodborne animated movie in the works from YouTuber Jacksepticeye, another potential candidate for Markiplier's new release system. His horror movie may just be the start of YouTubers breaking into film in a bigger way, something that could redefine creativity on the platform forever.