I think you make some good points in this article, but I would caution against undue pessimism. It isn't just Barbie and Oppenheimer that have proved big hits over the past couple of years. Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water were also massive, for instance. Beyond that, the likes of Scream VI, Creed III, The Little Mermaid, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, No Hard Feelings, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse all have done well. Not all of these are good films, but they are earning money for cinema chains, and in many cases, making good returns on investment (No Hard Feelings is a good recent example - not a smash, but in business terms, a success).

I'd also add that you are only really discussing mainstream Hollywood here. It may be gripped with timidity and creative inertia outside those few artists allowed freedom (Nolan, Peele, Villeneuve, Gerwig, et al), but cinema elsewhere is as incisive, creative, and challenging as ever. Think Korean cinema, Japanese cinema, European cinema, films from the Middle East, or the UK, or even from the American indepedent scene. These are flourishing still. Certainly, I've managed to see films from all of these categories at (often packed) independent venues near me. Rather amusingly, here in the southwest where Mark Jenkin is a bit of a local hero, there were many sold out screenings of the deeply abstract Enys Men, and at one point it was (locally) outperforming Avatar: The Way of Water.

In short, despite the woes you mention here, I think cinema is in the process of bouncing back post pandemic, and will continue to do so. :)