"The line between YouTuber and filmmaker has only gotten blurrier in recent years. Now, video essays regularly appear on "Best Films of the Year" lists; the Philippou Brothers, aka Racka Racka, made the sleeper horror hit ; and Chris Stuckmann's Shelby Oaks brought a new voice to horror. However, in each of these contexts, these creators were focused on long-form storytelling as an art form from the beginning."
"Markiplier has been a massively popular video game YouTuber for over a decade now. Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock Mark Fischbach, better known as Markiplier, got his start doing game reaction videos in 2012. He quickly found fame, and his fanbase became massive: his channel currently has 38.2 million subscribers. After dabbling filmmaking through his own interactive YouTube specials, he made his theatrical debut with Iron Lung, a self-financed adaptation of the video game of the same name."
"Iron Lung wasn't just self-financed, it also didn't have a distributor. Instead, Fischbach appealed to his fans to call up their local theaters and request showings of Iron Lung, resulting in a surprisingly wide release. At the end of its first weekend, the movie grossed $21.7 million at the box office, coming in only behind Sam Raimi's Send Help. This is an incredibly strong showing, especially considering the movie's budget was only $3 million."
Digital creators increasingly occupy both online and theatrical spaces, erasing clear boundaries between YouTuber and filmmaker. Video essays appear on best-of lists, while creators like the Philippou Brothers and Chris Stuckmann have produced notable horror features. Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) transitioned from game reaction videos to filmmaking and self-financed a theatrical adaptation of Iron Lung without a distributor. Fischbach mobilized his millions of subscribers to request local theater showings, producing a wide release. Iron Lung grossed $21.7 million in its opening weekend on a $3 million budget. This performance exemplifies a shifting theatrical landscape and a new Hollywood distribution model.
Read at Inverse
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