When Sean Baker was about to release his acclaimed “Anora,” he pondered the harsh reality of putting out an art-house movie — even a much-anticipated one — in 2024. “Sometimes I tweet about my film,” the writer-director told The Times in early October, “and the first question that comes back is: When will it be streaming?”
It’s a common lament. Terrific films abound, but the audience that once rushed to see them in theaters has shrunk. COVID-19 forced the temporary closure of multiplexes, but while spectacle-laden blockbusters have regained their pre-2020 mojo, indie movies still struggle to coax viewers to leave their homes.
