I apologize, but the case was made to be in a long and very compelling article that I don’t have a link for.
I think it was about consolidation, and how the lack of diversity in small independent theaters and small independent distributors robbed movies that weren’t copies of successful films the chance to become surprise hits.
Now, most theaters are chains, and they’re largely owned by the same entities that own distributors. So everywhere shows the same films, and there’s no one to take a chance on something different or risky.