Considering both blu-ray and 4K UHD are formats that are essentially “collectors only” purchases at this point (kind of like a better, more idealized Laser Disc really) I think that best case scenario is worth holding onto at least a tiny measure of hope? I’m sure it’ll get crushed by this time next year, haha. But the only people really buying physical media anymore are collectors and/or people who care that the image quality is as good as it can be. And both of those audience bases are really small compared to the general audience who has no problem w/ streaming quality, so you’ve gotta provide something a little extra to make that purchase seem “necessary.”
It really sucks that most people either don’t see or don’t care about the difference between blu ray video quality and a lower bitrate stream. When I stream movies and I see blocking, it takes me right out.
Fewer physical releases also means we are at the mercy of the streaming services, only able to watch what they deem “popular enough” to carry.