The Last Blockbuster

This week I watched The Last Blockbuster on Netflix. It was a great trip down memory lane. Blockbuster opened its first store in Dallas, TX in 1985. At that time, you could go to a movie theater and see a movie for less than $5, but a videocassette of the same movie once released for home viewing was upwards of $100. The business of renting movies took off after a favorable Supreme Court ruling that stated once someone purchases content that has a copyright, the buyer can do whatever he/she wants to do with it.

At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster had over 9,000 stores worldwide and over 84,000 employees. People have various theories on the downfall of Blockbuster, not the least of which are competition from Netflix and Redbox (one of 

the_spark

favorites). 

In 2010, Blockbuster declared bankruptcy, and the following year the franchise and remaining 1,700 stores were purchased by Dish Network. Stores steadily closed throughout the next several years until only a few remaining Blockbuster stores were left in the US. In 2018, all Blockbuster stores had closed except for the last one in Bend, Oregon, which is still open and featured in the Netflix documentary. 

I was digging through my files and found my Blockbuster card and posted a pic on Twitter. It was issued on 11/1/09. Seeing it brought back memories of when we used to have to rent the VCR along with the movies. I also remember standing in the check-out line hoping I was up for a free rental. Somewhere I still have my video cassette rewinder, which was faster than the VCR and avoided unnecessary wear and tear.