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It's more than an unappreciated flick from the turn of the millennium, it's also driving the executives at Redbox, Netflix and a smattering of other unorthodox rental companies mad.
Now, however, it seems that at least a couple of 'em are willing to bend. At the same time, however, it could prove to be an important competitive advantage, since its main competitor, Redbox, is forced to wait for many of the latest films.
But there's more to this story than just studio desire. By announcing its new pricing plan, Blockbuster Express has become the third rental firm to hike prices this year. Not long after, customers balked at the announcement, and last month, Netflix announced that it lost , customers after the changes were made public.
Oreo - Blockbuster and chill? I'm assuming yall are gonna want this back pic. The Blockbuster tweet appeared to be related to a promotion announced Tuesday by San Francisco-based Airbnb, which is offering vacationers the chance to spend the night at the last remaining Blockbuster Video store in the world, an independently-owned location in Oregon. Earlier this year, NBC News reported on the last, lonely Blockbuster, and how this relic from the s is actually thriving during the pandemic, thanks to a boost in home video viewing interest.
Blockbuster Video was once a ubiquitous presence in American cities, with 9, stores offering video rentals worldwide as recently as If Tuesday's reaction on Twitter is any indication, though, thousands of people are longing for a return to the simpler times of "Be Kind, Rewind" and dropping off tapes and DVDs through a slot in the door after hours, just in time to avoid late fees.
But the store was going to close and the joke about time no longer applied to the situation. The store was wondrous in its nostalgia, though, in its hum of movement and goings-on; so it was easy to feel the arguments skew in support of the past.
This Blockbuster had 26 copies of Black Panther , an entire shelf, which made the movie seem even bigger. And Toxic Waste—brand gummy bears.
The movies in the Foreign section had all been carefully stickered with the tiny flag of the origin country, a nice personal touch. They had seven seasons of Ice Road Truckers. They had Critters 3 with a tiny Leonardo DiCaprio! Many of the rental options had been out of print forever.
It was slow in Soldotna on the very last day. Not merely because it was Sunday, but it was slow , like there was a drooping heft to the passing of time. The Coca-Cola clock on the wall had stopped, and its arms were frozen in place; and it was light outside throughout the evening, as it was always light in the summer, so there was no reprieve from the gauzy blanket of daytime.
Ashton Kutcher came here. He was here fishing. I was working at Subway. I worked at an oil field, Pollard Wireline, and at Tesoro gas station. There were like people wanting this job. Justin Trickel was behind the counter, his dyed-red hair combed back from his forehead, the piercing on his tongue visible inside his mouth every time he opened it to say something.
He did not have a great explanation for this bit of flair, just that this was a little thing that he tried to do to see who was paying attention, and how they would react; and it either made them laugh or led to awkward silence, depending on the situation. The stores had always been adaptable to what the managers thought was working, be it reducing prices, stocking more candy, letting staff recommend movies on the wall.
The stores were owned by a guy in Texas named Alan Payne, whom Justin had met a few times; Alan was willing to let his managers run their stores without a lot of interference. At the end of the parking lot behind the store, a little makeshift Ferris wheel was stationary against the sun.
A nearby trailer that advertised Ice was empty. The Golden Wheel carnival had come, and there was an apocalyptic stillness to the empty rides waiting for children to sit in the seats, cigarette butts blowing softly around the parking lot like leaves in the air of the fall.
Fishing runs were getting smaller. Tourism was up and down. The loss of oil field workers had affected the service industries, and those workers were no longer buying cars, food, and houses.
Some customers told him they had to choose between renting a movie and buying groceries. One of the few customers in Soldotna that last day was a year-old named Tovia Owens.
She liked books, dogs, the big yard at her house, and the library. She did not so much like movies on demand. I prefer hard copies of videos. As Justin went to lock the doors, he let one last customer in.
Which she paid. And she had lived there four years, having moved from California because she loved salmon fishing, and the random thing she wanted to watch became the accidental metaphor for something that had long outlived itself: The Big Bang Theory Season A man with graying hair got out of a yellow cab.
The cab driver got out of the car, too, made a phone call, leaned against the hood; it was apparent the passenger had asked him to wait there as he went inside. In Anchorage, there were jingle bells above the doors; they rang every time someone entered, and it made the man with graying hair look up for a half-second. His name was Mike Wahl. He was He was from New Jersey; he had been on a cruise, from Vancouver to Anchorage, with his father and sister, aboard the Star Princess.
It was the last day of a weeklong trip. Next to it were the two glass displays for the hood and the vest and the robe and the chairs, and a framed, handwritten letter from Crowe describing each item on Russell Crowe stationery in a kind of illegible script, and signed in cursive, RUSSELL. And it was not unusual what Mike Wahl was doing in front of the display, trying to find someone in the store who would take his picture with his phone, his cab driver pacing around outside and looking at his watch.
The wedding party? They held the jockstrap. I took it out. They were so excited, laughing, giggling, it was crazy. It took Kevin half a day to put the displays together, cursing under his breath. And then even The Hollywood Reporter quoted him about it. This was hot stuff, man. VHS tapes were the going thing. I was up at the counter looking for someone to take my picture, but at that counter, even there … you got that feeling. You know, little flashbacks, that kind of thing. He worked for Blockbuster for 27 years.
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