The vast majority of movies—let alone the ones worth watching—are not on streaming platforms, so I don't understand why you'd expect this to be the payoff route. Movies are still "sold" (i.e. leased) both directly to consumers and to streaming platforms—presumably for a studio that's still the way they make money.

if they need a load, inflation and interest rates are probably going to eat that profit horizon.

I'd bet you're going to see this more often.