Yes, theatrical movies have been "dead' for some time. The pandemic showed how quickly they are dispensed with. Corporate owning began a long time ago, in the 80's and before. But the real killer is the cross-pollination of "product" through all media -- music, books, TV, movies, games, toys,. etc. The marketization of movies drove actors salaries and consequently budgets to levels of ridiculousness.
Now they make Big Crap or little "important" films that basically cater to a very small minority of Hollywood elite. Few and far between are the classic B-movies we all grew up with and what really drove Hollywood in the 70's and 80's -- those smaller movies that surprised you. I'm not certain what the last genuine one was -- maybe Blair Witch so long ago -- but even those type movies have become cookie-cutter recipes (Paranormal, Wan world, etc)... and with action films its pretty much Liam Neeson Taken 12 or Fast and the Furious 13 or some variant with un-understandable Gerard Butler. They make a lot of movies about wolves chasing big names in the snow too. Not sure what that's about, but its very symbolic.
Gone are the days of Dirty Harry, Halloween, Jaws, The Thing, Star Wars, Terminator, Alien, Animal House, First Blood, War Games, Die Hard, and so many others. Half the movies above would never even be made now due to "content" and "representation".
