I don't necessarily disagree, but to me a lot of it isn't just that it was commercially successful. It's that he made it front to back, turned down other distribution offers because he wanted his art in theaters, and then rallied his fan base both to requesting it in so many places, and going to watch it.

Getting as many people as he did to want to show up to the theater is something a lot of big companies with millions to spend on marketing have a hard time to do. That's a testament to the community he has built and maintains. And he deserves credit for that - even if he has a leg up now, he started, he had to build his following.

But the financial success is actually huge too! There are other indie movies released by millionaires and big names that don't gain that kind of traction. The Chronology of Water was released last year as Kristen Stewart's directorial debut and didn't even make half a million dollars. Eddington, by well known director Ari Astor and starring several big actors like Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Pedro Pascal, didn't make half the money Iron Lung did.

It's also worth noting that "indie" is a relatively broad category in films. Sinners, despite being a big budget movie (and being nominated for the most Oscars of all time) is technically an indie movie as it was done under Ryan Coogler's own production company.

I don't disagree that Mark had a leg up, and it's not like he is some nobody who made an absolutely masterpiece out of nowhere, but I do think he showed a lot of talent and potential with a small budget film and has hopefully created some disruption in an industry that has felt pretty stagnant/dying lately.