People could pay upfront for production of things, see for example the recent case of "Double Fine Adventure" on Kickstarter.
Also production means change all the time. It is not a given that you need a zillion of people to make a movie. It is also not a given that such movies are a need of mankind - as you say yourself, that particular movie you saw was really lousy.
Even today most movies don't make money.
The hit driven approach could be replaced by other means of funding. Just off the top of the head, what if instead of saying "what would be the most mainstream message of a movie possible, so that it has the highest conceivable target demographic", movies would be sponsored by people who want to convey some subtler message (ie millionaires or fundraisers, or simply enthusiastic people).
Also production means change all the time. It is not a given that you need a zillion of people to make a movie. It is also not a given that such movies are a need of mankind - as you say yourself, that particular movie you saw was really lousy.
Even today most movies don't make money.
The hit driven approach could be replaced by other means of funding. Just off the top of the head, what if instead of saying "what would be the most mainstream message of a movie possible, so that it has the highest conceivable target demographic", movies would be sponsored by people who want to convey some subtler message (ie millionaires or fundraisers, or simply enthusiastic people).