It’s not just horror movies and summer blockbusters. Cult movies are also going extinct:

• Cult movie sections used to be lovingly curated by movie store clerks who’d sell them to movie buyers looking for a recommendation.
• Studios used to be more willing to experiment with cult fare back when it was easier to stand out and have even dud movies make a lot of money.
• Now even summer blockbusters don’t always break even and executives prefer to cater for mass audiences rather than segmented markets.
• In theory social media should help, but in practice it encourages discussion over a large quantity of topics rather than a sustained discussion of any one thing.
• And since movies aren’t physically shared with friends on DVDs or proudly displayed on shelves anymore, there’s less of an opportunity to talk up an understated film.
• Do not despair: television has become increasingly experimental and the kinds of people who made cult movies now make the same fare for Netflix and HBO.

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