Remember, the films that could have been the Alien, Star Wars, or Terminator of the 2010s have been aggressively stifled by the studio system. The best films being made today are from filmmakers who were working in the 80s and 90s at the latest. Once those directors leave the scene, cinema will be dead within 20 years. It's not that the public always chooses the safe and familiar on instinct, it's because the safe and familiar have been the only options for decades. Hollywood doesn't want another Heaven's Gate, and are willing to destroy the art form forever.