I prefer the cynical pleasure of the cinematic mainstream, not because I need mainstream "entertainment," but because I am more likely to see bursts of subversion by cultural workers, rather than the annoying mythologies of cultural decline that come from people who work in the culture industry yet consider themselves to be artists. I personally don't think Hitchcock achieved anything significantly more important than the anonymous cinematic factories that predated him and outlived him. Maybe we should remember Roger Corman in his place.
Also, please remember that those numbers may be dramatically skewed; people going out to the movies usually pick the big events, the big-budget spectacles that they have been promised will blow them away on the big screen. Though, regrettably, some people will labor under the illusion that Pirates of the Caribbean is anything other than a major piece of shit, many movie goers will be unimpressed and forget about the movie. That's why Hollywood is relying on sequels and adaptations that already have audience, rather than trying to pull people in on the basis of quality. Either way a large portion of movies are being downloaded--which is likely to grow exponentially--and these movies may be more important in people's everyday lives.