He isn't wrong, even if he's being a wee bit old man-cloud about it. But I have a question for Mr. Scorsese: why on earth did
The Irishman cost $250MM? And
Killers of the Flower Moon > $200MM? That's not a good investment.
Oppenheimer was made for $100MM! Hell,
The Batman cost the same as
Flower Moon.
Dune for less. That's nuts, if you're going to decry how much franchise movies suck up studio dollars. And they do. But this scene probably cost as much as the Trinity Test in
Oppenheimer:
I think horror and animation are in an amazing place in reliable cost to quality. Some of the truest cinema experiences are still found in foreign language films -- and I think that's as true today as in the 1950s. It will always be true.
The $80-100MM prestige film is a dying breed and that stinks. I also think Scorsese overestimates peoples' intelligence and tastes to some degree. I'm a TCM junkie-- most aren't. It's a consumer issue as much as a studio issue. Streaming and endless prestige TV/limited series have permanently changed the market. There's still some awesome production companies like A24 that produce what I crave. Or Searchlight. Or whatever.
I made this exact point the other day in the Quackverse thread. You phrased it better than me. There is no genre I can't enjoy, but the feeling of being perma-strung along is exhausting. Tentpole films so rarely feel like a complete experience. Or the work of someone with a distinctive vision. The fatigue is real looking at the box office.