Why you should watch the ‘cheap’ horror film that beat Melania at the box office

Melania Trump’s documentary has faced and been defeated by an unexpected box office competitor: A self-funded horror film made by a YouTuber.

Backed by Amazon and reportedly bought and distributed for around $70m, the film opened in 1,778 cinemas and took $2.9m on its first day, which is technically above initial projections, but nowhere near enough to justify the investment.

Needless to say, given this level of political visibility and corporate muscle, the numbers were pretty underwhelming.

The real surprise came from Iron Lung, a grim sci-fi horror adaptation directed by Mark Fischbach, better known to his millions of followers as Markiplier.

Based on the cult 2022 game by David Szymanski, the film was made for a comparatively tiny $3m and has already pulled in a shocking $21m worldwide.

In the process, Iron Lung outpaced Melania and even gave Sam Raimi’s studio-backed horror-comedy Send Help, starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, a run for its money.

Set after the ‘Quiet Rapture,’ a cosmic catastrophe that wipes out entire planets without explanation, Iron Lung follows a lone convict named Simon, sentenced to pilot a rickety submarine through an ocean of blood on a dead moon.

It’s oppressive, minimal, and aggressively uninterested in mainstream appeal, but, according to fans, it’s also deeply affecting and clever.

Originally intended for a modest US release in around 60 theatres, Iron Lung ballooned into an international rollout after online demand spiked.

It’s now screening in more than 4,000 cinemas across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, powered almost entirely by Markiplier’s audience rather than traditional marketing.

Some critics, however, remain unconvinced. The film currently sits at 44 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences have rated it a far rosier 89 per cent.

Melania shows a similar divide, but with a clear political edge.

Critics have largely eviscerated the documentary, leaving it with a brutal six per cent critics’ score.

Meanwhile, its audience rating stands at a near-perfect 99 per cent, which is clearly more a reflection of ideological loyalty than of cinematic merit.

Titled Melania: Twenty Days to History, the project was directed by Brett Ratner, best known for leading the Rush Hour film series, but who was the subject of a string of misconduct allegations in 2017 when six women in Hollywood came forward with complaints against him, which he denied.

He also produced the pro-Trump documentary The Man You Don’t Know in 2024.

Melania was the subject of a bidding war between Disney and Paramount Plus, with both seeking streaming rights to the film.

The surprise box office success of Iron Lung suggests a (possibly) exciting shift in cinema, as films like Melania with big-money backing and political relevance flop, while a creator with a dedicated online following can, under the right circumstances, outgun the establishment entirely.

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