Honestly I didn't hear about this movie until two weeks ago, and already is nominated for Academy Awards. I remember the Shape of Water getting buzz and made cash, I remember Parasite getting a ton of buzz and it made bank. This year The Whale is getting all the hype, and I am sure people will want to see it.
This shyt came out of left field, and while it had Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, it's a harsh reminder in a MCU-dominated world, that Big Name stars just aren't enough anymore unless your Tom Cruise, and even then Tom is busting his ass to promote his film.
How did it expect to make cash during a time when AVATAR 2 was coming out?
Cruise ain't enough for nothing either tbh, outside of the nostalgic IPs he starred in 20+ years ago (Mission Impossible, Top Gun) that he'll start/continue milking the same way Vin Diesel milks the Fast & Furious.
Hell, Will Smith probably could've gone a similar path with Bad Boys if Martin had been in better health/mental state this whole time... or with MiB if a little more care was taken to make better movies out of the last couple... or simply not making the last couple, and having a more dramatic reveal in the 2020s of Will returning but in the Agent K mentor role...
All in all, the industry is not so much MCU-dominate, as it is IP-dominant, with the MCU simply being the most notable case.