Been telling y'all for a while that audiences have given up on anything that ain't cheap thrills. Anything that isn't designed to sell toys or start a shared universe is too pretentious for them. It was a slow burn of course, but 2021 was the nadir, the period where nothing finds success, and there's no turning back anymore. It'll only get worse from here, especially when the Academy gives up and forces themselves to nominate all the populist blockbusters to stay relevant.