To the excitement of local horror and YouTube Lets Play fans, independent film “Iron Lung” comes to theaters this weekend at more theaters than the creator or his fans ever anticipated.
“Iron Lung” is a film adaptation of a 2022 horror video game with the same title. Mark Fischbach or “Markiplier,” a well-known content creator on YouTube, announced he would be writing and directing the adaptation in April of 2023. Nearly three years later, “Iron Lung” arrives in theaters on Friday, Jan. 30.
In a video posted to the Markiplier YouTube channel on Dec. 11, 2025, Fischbach said the number of theaters showing “Iron Lung” had risen from 60 to 1,578. That number now stands at 3,021 theaters worldwide, according to the “Iron Lung” website. For Murray State students, this means they can watch this highly anticipated indie movie as close as a mile off campus.
Seven movie theaters within two hours of Murray State’s main campus have showtimes for “Iron Lung” available on their websites:
- Cheri Theatres in Murray, Kentucky
- Maiden Alley Cinema in Paducah, Kentucky
- Cinemark Paducah in Paducah, Kentucky
- The Showbox in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
- Golden Ticket Cinemas Capitol 8 in Madisonville, Kentucky
- Regal Clarksville in Clarksville, Tennessee
- Phoenix Theatres Governor’s Square Mall in Clarksville, Tennessee
Ronan Roberts, a freshman environmental science major, is debating between seeing the movie at Cheri Theatres or Regal Clarksville. He said while Cheri Theatres is local and cheap, he wants to go to Regal Clarksville for the limited supply of 3D printed popcorn buckets Regal Cinemas partnered with Fischbach to make.
“When the first few were announced, we were planning to go all the way to St. Louis, as I think it was the closest one at release,” Roberts said. “It’s been so hyped up, which is great, but I do wish it was a bit more of an intimate crowd. Especially with my plans to go to Regal, I’m scared the resellers are gonna buy out all of the buckets before I can grab one.”
Guinevere Hester, a senior wildlife and conservation biology major, is traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to see “Iron Lung” at Xscape Theatres.
“I ordered (tickets) almost as soon as they announced them when it was that first few hundred theaters and hadn’t been picked up by the big chain theaters like AMC (or) Cinemark,” Hester said. “I actually got the last ticket in the theater at the time and day I chose, and I felt so grateful and lucky to be able to have the experience of seeing the movie in theaters.”
Hester and Roberts both said they have faith that Fischbach’s directorial debut will be a good movie because of its well-received source material and the quality of his past productions made on YouTube.
“I think it’s gonna be fantastic,” Roberts said. “A good movie for me is defined by the immersion, a good plot and good cinematography — bonus points for a banger soundtrack — all of which I’m extremely confident Mark will pull through on.”
Hester said she thinks this movie will highlight the value of independent productions and how much people care about them.
“It is actually really exciting to see an indie movie get so much love, and I think it will also show the value of indie game production,” she said. “Hopefully, more things will be made that are similar to ‘Iron Lung.’”
