Should Blockbuster Make a Comeback?
iStock.com/Jorge Villalba
After Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010, most people thought that was the end of the iconic yellow and blue chain. However, there's still one store left to this day.
As reported by Seattle Met, this movie rental giant once boasted over 9,000 locations, with roughly half of them in the United States. Before its bankruptcy, the company attempted — and failed — to transition to a mail-in DVD model like Netflix. Franchise locations lingered until the second-to-last store closed in 2018, leaving just one remaining in a small strip mall near downtown Bend, Oregon. Per the outlet, it's now "as much shrine as shop."
According to Santana Aguilar, an assistant manager at the Oregon Blockbuster, the transformation into a tourist attraction happened almost instantly. "As soon as we became the last one, it definitely blew up. Definitely night and day," Aguilar said.
Yesterday, the Oregon Blockbuster location released a short film advertisement on YouTube. The ad depicts locations where Blockbuster stores used to be, showing that many of its signs still hang around. Per AdAge, "The businesses that took over the locations sometimes kept the iconic Blockbuster sign, but simply rebranded it." Toward the end of the ad, the words "One way or another, we'll still be here," appear, and it's just the latest commercial in the store's "Until the Bitter End" campaign.
Moreover, last month, Tampa Bay Comic Con celebrated nostalgia with the Blockbuster Video Experience, which lasted from Aug. 23 to 25 at the Tampa Convention Center. Attendees enjoyed a collection of 10,000 DVDs and VHS tapes as well as original merchandise from the documentary "The Last Blockbuster," complete with iconic movie props, and the familiar Blockbuster scent. All of the items were available for sale, or as the event put it, "available for rent forever."
While many feel nostalgic about the experience of renting physical media, that sentiment doesn't necessarily translate into financial success in an era where streaming offers unmatched convenience.
For example, this past July, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, facing significant financial challenges after acquiring Redbox in 2022. The company reported debts of approximately $970 million against assets of about $414 million, with creditors including major players like Universal Studios and Walmart. Shortly after, Redbox announced it was shutting down its DVD rental kiosks.
The debate over physical media intensified last year when Best Buy announced it would stop selling DVDs and Blu-rays, highlighting the decline of physical formats in favor of streaming. While digital media offered convenience, concerns about ownership and access renewed interest in physical copies, especially following frustrations over lost digital licenses amid company closures.
On the positive side for physical media, How-To Geek recently shared an opinion piece about the advantages of physical rental retailers. Summed up as follows:
- No special features: Digital rentals exclude special features typically found in physical rentals; purchasing is required for access.
- No sharing: Digital rentals are tied to one account and cannot be shared.
- Limited viewing time: A 30-day rental period becomes just 48 hours of actual viewing after starting the movie.
- Automatic returns: Digital rentals expire automatically, with no option for late returns.
- Loss of social interaction: Digital rentals eliminate the community experience of browsing and discussing movies in-store.
Based on consumer feedback, physical media rental stores could also have the advantage when it comes to being an experiential retailer, as well as capitalizing on nostalgia and becoming trendy.
As an example, a business owner in New Orleans, who is a self-proclaimed believer of physical media, put together a small hole-in-the-wall rental store called Future Shock Video that caters to a full-on retro experience.
“The feedback has been great. People are excited. I think we’re already at a point where millennials are grumpy and nostalgic, so they miss all this."
Eden Chubb, owner of Future Shock Video, via Gulf Live
Gulf Live reports that inside the store, a "portal to 1999 awaits: walls lined with DVDs and VHS tapes, an old-school console TV playing black-and-white films, and even a concession stand, boasting skittles and popcorn packets."
This also coincides with how this past summer, streaming costs rose, with services like Max and Spotify announcing price hikes as part of a broader trend in the industry. Despite the increases, ad-supported plans still provide a more affordable option, and even Amazon Prime users now experience ads unless they upgrade their plans and pay more.
Earlier this year, The Guardian explored the notion of whether physical media was still necessary, and many readers responded, noting how streaming quality is inconsistent and many movies and shows get pulled off platforms left and right.
One reader's prediction stated, "Rental places will surge back, it may take a while but will happen, nostalgia for one and also the new experience of it for others."