The thing that’s protected me creatively is that the movies have made profits.

Shyamalan is pointing to a pragmatic truth about artistic autonomy in commercial filmmaking: consistent profitability buys leverage. When a director’s films reliably return money, studios, financiers, and distributors are more willing to tolerate risk—unusual premises, tonal boldness, slower pacing, or idiosyncratic storytelling—because the creator has demonstrated market viability. The quote also hints at a defensive posture: critical backlash or industry skepticism can be countered by the hard metric of profit, which can “protect” a filmmaker from being forced into safer, committee-driven choices. In short, financial success functions as a shield that preserves creative control.