What factors explain the mid-budget genre decline amid blockbuster dominance?

[Kyle_W]

I work in film distribution analysis, and I'm trying to make sense of the current box office trends where mid-budget genre films seem to be struggling more than ever to find an audience, while both mega-budget franchise films and ultra-low-budget breakouts are capturing all the oxygen. This polarization feels unsustainable for the industry's overall health. For analysts or industry professionals, what underlying factors do you see driving this bifurcation beyond the obvious impact of streaming? I'm particularly interested in data on changing demographic habits, the role of marketing spend versus word-of-mouth in different budget tiers, and whether there are any emerging markets or release strategies that are successfully bucking this trend for original, mid-range productions.