YouTube star Markiplier made his own movie for much less than "Melania" and beat it at the box office

"Nope, not " Melania" - though the sort-of-documentary about the first lady did do better than industry folks had projected, bringing in $7 million in its first weekend. The real hit of the weekend was made by someone you probably haven't heard of, unless you are a very specific kind of online person: " Iron Lung," a horror/sci-fi movie, written, directed by, and starring Mark Fischbach, known to his fans as Markiplier on YouTube, where he has 38.2 million subscribers."

"Which means Fischbach, who self-financed the movie and says he spent "a few million dollars" on it, has probably already turned a profit on the project. (Amazon, meanwhile, has spent a reported $75 million to make and promote "Melania", and will be very hard pressed to make that money back - not that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos likely cares about that.)"

Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) wrote, directed, and starred in Iron Lung, a horror/sci-fi film that grossed $22 million worldwide, largely from U.S. ticket sales. Fischbach has 38.2 million YouTube subscribers and activated that audience to attend theatrical showings. He self-financed the movie and reports spending "a few million dollars," suggesting the project likely turned a profit after its opening weekend. By contrast, Amazon reportedly spent $75 million on Melania, which opened to $7 million despite major promotional backing including Fox News interviews and presidential social-media promotion generating about 600,000 ticket sales. The outcome shows the potential for large online followings to drive box-office revenue, though repeatability for other creators is uncertain.

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