I agree with the sentiment in the beginning of your post. But it’s a bit unfair to ‘hope’ people ‘actively support’ something. If Martin Scorsese is free to say Marvel films are trash (sorry, ‘theme parks’), other individuals should also be free to watch what they like.
I'm absolutely not mandating that people support women-centered films just for the sake of throwing them dollars or views. Everyone should watch what interests them. There are plenty of films featuring mostly or all women that I skip because they don't interest me and I feel zero guilt in doing so.
I was specifically addressing the kind of people who complain about all that feminism, who often make sure to mention that they want to support "good" female characters. Interestingly, I don't often tend to see them talk about that many films with good female characters. If people genuinely want films to have good female characters, then they should support such films. If you are uninterested in female-centered films period, don't watch them. But talking smack about "feminist" films, saying you want "good" female characters, and then not actually seeking out films with good female characters is kind of weaselly.
I feel that it’s just not reasonable to expect an audience to want women-centred narratives.
But it is reasonable to say that if someone asserts that they want good movies with good female characters, then they should support such films.
I often look for something to watch that he’d enjoy (he’s a cinephile too and has seen a ton of films), and there’s very little made in the recent years. And the experience I’m looking for at that moment is to enjoy it with him, so I, too, want something in the vein of what I would usually watch with him as a child, i.e. the Bond films, Indiana Jones, Star Wars etc. And that’s harder and harder to find. Shouldn’t films cater to all kinds and demographics, instead of becoming irreversibly progressive?
Surely you're not suggesting that male-centered action/adventure films have been displaced by women-centered films. I mean, most of the Marvel films (22 out of 23), the Bond franchise (which is still around), the Star Trek franchise, the Fast and the Furious franchise, the recent King Arthur film, the Mission Impossible franchise, Edge of Tomorrow, the Jumanji movies, the list goes on and on, are centered on male characters. I'm not sure what you mean by "irreversibly progressive". Most films, and especially most mainstream action/adventure films, still center on male characters.
It's true that there isn't as much 80s-era type action adventure, PG-13 stuff these days--it's all been taken over by superheroes. But that's not because of progressive agendas (again, 22 out of 23 Marvel films are male-centered), it's just the current film climate.
I feel this is a much deeper and more complex topic, more to do with what makes a film exciting, and what it is that makes an audience want more films like that.
Which goes back to something I said earlier: if you don't like films that paint their themes in broad strokes, then just don't watch them. I can totally understand someone not wanting to watch
Captain Marvel. I just find myself a little perplexed about the number of people who seem to be mad that it exists.