I was about to say this exact thing. I've seen some amazing content on various streaming services that would have simply not even existed in prior decades. Even some of the "big boys" of media have been able to produce some shockingly good content these days thanks to the lowered risks and costs of available outlet channels for their more "experimental" media offerings.
Today, available means flattens the whole landscape, you can indeed do everything at a fraction of the cost but so the goal vanished because there's nothing of greatness now ? (and many groups are in the "availability is key for .. whatever" .. I find the idea too naive)
This weird tension, or contrast, is interesting.
I disagree. The masses that buy millions of tickets every week to watch the latest opening do so because that is a primary form of entertainment. Most people are that boring and will watch whatever is at the movies that week. I don't think they are going because they really like movies, because come on... but I could be just gatekeeping.
Excluding blockbusters that rack up hundreds of millions in opening week, most people will go see whatever is playing and not thing too much about it.
I see the google info box saying the average movie marketing spend matches your quote, but they are talking about productions averaging only 60 millions in costs.
Blockbusters like transformers or large marvel movies are much more expensive to produce and market.
Hollywood reports sets the marketing costs of summer blockbusters at 200 million worldwide - in 2014!
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/200-mill...
My solution to this is to watch actual films that are made with artistic intent or to see certain things that are submitted into festivals instead of just the main films shown to everyone. It's helped tremendously but it becomes a chore quick when there are a lot of "artsy" movies that tell the exact same story you've seen a million times.
This, for example, is a perennial favourite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey
However, I'd like to think it's not just the plot, but the acting and the interpersonal relationships, that makes things interesting.
There are other examples too, but this is one immediate one.