How a YouTuber Took His Self-Financed Movie Wide Without a Studio

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Matt is joined by YouTuber Mark Fischbach (also known as Markiplier) to discuss his new movie, ‘Iron Lung,' why he adapted a low-budget indie horror video game, and how he self-financed the film and pulled off a wide release without a studio attached. Later, Mark talks about the state of the creator economy, YouTube vs. Netflix, and whether his model is viable path for other up-and-coming creators (01:31). Matt finishes the show with a ratings prediction for the Grammy Awards (25:45). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Mark Fischbach Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:30.2	Hear that?
0:31.3	It's your big McDonald's hunger calling,
0:33.1	because the Big Arch is back,
0:34.9	and this time it's here to stay
0:36.4	with juicy beef, cheddar cheese, and that Big Arch sauce.
0:40.0	Hungry, you are now.
0:41.7	Order delivery on the McDonald's app.
0:45.1	Serve from 11am, upcharges and fees apply to delivery orders.
0:48.0	Subjects availability, price and participation may vary.
0:50.6	It is Friday, January 30th.
0:52.8	There's a movie opening wide this weekend on about 3,000 screens in the U.S. and Canada
0:57.6	that's expected to gross between $7 and $10 million.
1:00.6	No, it's not the Melania Trump documentary.
1:03.2	It doesn't even have a traditional studio distributor.
1:06.0	It's called Iron Lung, and it's a low-budget adaptation of an indie horror video game.
1:11.9	Showings were sold out weeks in advance, and overall pre-sales are at about $7 million, a number that any indie distributor
1:17.7	would love to have. So how do this happen? After all, this is kind of the indie filmmaker's dream,
1:23.3	a DIY movie that's getting a very non-di--style release. The director, producer, and financier of
	...

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