Highbrow and soulless are different axes. Disney may be a giant soulless company, but they do employ actual artists who sometimes make decent movies which in general do vastly better at the box office.
Handing a talented team enough time, freedom, and budget doesn’t guarantee success but it’s definitely a prerequisite for success.
I'm more interested in movies that make money through the long tail of DVD sales. Box office numbers have always favoured blockbusters. The long tail content tends to be better, less one-size-fits-all, and allows room for multiple films trying different things, across different genres. That era appears to be over however.
