Part of the issue is that studios have been actively trying to screw over the theaters, for the same reason. Everyone feels entitled to all of the profits, and does everything in their power to hoard it from everyone else.

Last I checked, the studio basically gets 100% of the ticket price. This can happen directly, or indirectly (theater buys the film for a set price, based on expected sales). This typically means the entire theater operations have to survive on concession sales alone.

That’s the cost of rent, marketing, administration, cleaning, maintenance, and more. All of this from your $10 popcorn and $8 coke, for 2 hours. That means a lot of corners have to be cut, making it harder to justify the cost of going in the first place.

It also means that Disney is happy to sell you the same movie on streaming, but only if they can get the same $15 apiece.