Why did major Hollywood studios stop working with Robert Altman after Popeye?

Major Hollywood studios turned away from Robert Altman following the 1980 release of the big-budget musical Popeye because the film failed to generate the significant profits that the studio had anticipated.1

In the early 1980s, the film industry was increasingly focused on producing big-concept blockbusters. Consequently, studios began to view Altman’s filmmaking style as too unconventional, iconoclastic, and ultimately unmarketable for their commercial needs. As a result of this shift in the industry's perception of his work, Altman spent much of the 1980s directing smaller, lower-budget projects, often adapting stage plays, before eventually returning to mainstream success in the 1990s.1