The Western is pretty much dead. The Western genre success was predicated among those fans who read westerns as a child (i.e. a literate society) or saw it on early TV.
>>The Western is pretty much dead.
The western is dead for the same reason that just about every other genre is dead. Hollywood only makes two kinds of movies: ones with plots that imply that something about America (or individualism) is evil, or the “rollercoaster” movies that have no plot and are just 2 hours of special effects, sex, and/or fart jokes. One is boring and irritating. The other is tiring. Very few are worth $35 for tickets and popcorn for the wife and I.
The last, good western IMHO, wa Open Range. The best grad finale shoot out I can remember. Robert Duval was exceptional.