Markiplier’s Iron Lung movie surprises with $8.9 million opening night earnings, leaving the developer in awe.

In a surprising twist in the realm of video game adaptations, Christophe Gans’ Return to Silent Hill has floundered at the box office, while Markiplier’s Iron Lung has skyrocketed to success. Return to Silent Hill has unfortunately become a box office failure, whereas Iron Lung shattered expectations, raking in an astonishing $8.9 million on its opening night—almost three times its $3 million budget, as noted by developer David Szymanski on Twitter with a simple, “What the fuck.”

The horror film has continued its impressive run, pulling in $17.8 million domestically over the weekend and a total of $21.7 million worldwide. Iron Lung currently holds a comfortable second place at the box office, only trailing behind Sam Raimi’s Send Help, which has grossed $28.1 million globally.

When asked on Twitter about the film’s impressive ranking, Szymanski described the experience as “dreamlike.” It’s hard to believe that his hour-long, $8 indie game about navigating a submarine through a sea of blood has transformed into a two-hour, multimillion-dollar film complete with its own themed bloody popcorn bucket. With the growing influence of major corporations on both indie games and theaters, this success feels particularly significant.

Meanwhile, Gans has mentioned that a director’s cut of Return to Silent Hill could provide the film with “room to breathe,” despite its current standing as a critical disappointment with a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.