Redbox is Dead...and they ain't going to heaven

[@zakwan10]

How many here are of the generation that spent Friday nights at a rental video store looking for that perfect movie or game?

[@truefanforum3273]

Yo.

[@MrBobinski1]

I'm part of the ones that would call on Monday to reserve a copy for Friday you peasant!

[@MrBobinski1]

I'm one of the ones that called on Monday and reserved a copy for Friday because we are fancy.

[@TheRayfield77]

Present

[@partyrobbins4690]

Aye

[@rebeccabamford5505]

I was a single mom with three kids in the 90s. Friday or Saturday night was pizza, go to the video store night, and stay up making popcorn. It was fun, not to expensive and I loved the together time with my kids. I miss those days

[@CL-kn1rq]

In the early 2000's, three kids equals 4 videos and we start with the youngest's video first....😂

[@rebeccabamford5505]

@@CL-kn1rq yes! Sometimes there was rent three get one free? That sort of deal. It was fun. And it was something we all looked forward to.

[@CL-kn1rq]

@@rebeccabamford5505 oh yes I forgot the rent 3 deal! 😄 Yes, everybody enjoyed video night. Also nobody wanted to walk 5 steps to throw them in the return slot the next day, we didn't have a drive through so one kid had to be bribed...lol.

[@metazoxan2]

I was a kid in the 90s and I miss those days as well :(

[@A2thaLO]

@@rebeccabamford5505 I love this! Great memories 😊

[@amadensor]

There is one Blockbuster left. They outlasted Redbox.

[@flemmingpedersen567]

Blockbuster isn't dead at all, they just grew up and became a pay-per-view streaming service.

[@professorhaystacks6606]

But not, as The Great North incorrectly states, in Alaska. Which is weird. It's in Colorado, iirc.

[@TheMasterSpecter]

​@professorhaystacks6606 Its in Bend OR. I just went there on vacation

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

@@flemmingpedersen567 "Pay-per-view"? I thought that died when streaming killed directTV! lol

[@beyondobscure]

It's kind of blockbuster in name only. Blockbuster as a company became defunct in 2020 and no longer exists. The one in Oregon is a privately owned franchise and Blockbuster LLC sees no profits from it considering it doesn't exist.

[@Noledad77]

Nobody is safe if Matt still has a camera and a green screen.

[@PastorK4Noles]

Go Noles!

[@AddictOfLearning]

Was about to say the same thing

[@heath_bar852]

GO NOLES!

[@frostriver4547]

And multiple colors of Carrhart shirts

[@erikzaniadelvillar5825]

😂😂😂😂

[@TheCatholicNerd]

I still miss the mom and pop places. We rented a Nintendo from them for like 2 months every weekend until my parents broke down and bought the Nintendo.

[@jawjagrrl]

They were great! My first job (besides babysitting) was as a video store clerk for a family that owned 3-4 stores. Just movies and equipment rentals, no pizza, bait or sketchyness :) as a teen in the 80s, being able to take any movies still not checked out at close for free was magical.

[@johnlach2199]

Out place had beta movies we could rent

[@Cynthea_Lee]

Mom mom had a time share in this little blip on the map town, right on the property was one of those places, they had the BEST ice cream, was a gas station, and movies, and games. We'd check in on Sat, then head straight there grab movies and games, and swap em out every other day till our week was up. I always thought it was a GENIUS place to put one of those mom and pop stores they had to have made a killing renting to all the 'guests' each week, all year round.

[@shaneknowles7632]

It was the old ninja movies for me!!...Every week on Friday night, We would walk to the movie store and I would have about 15 minutes to find the latest Kosugi movie I hadn't seen yet....I was 4 or 5, It was the early 90s, and we didn't have a car...We walked everywhere because everything we needed was only a few miles away...When we needed to go somewhere farther, Mom would just call a cab.....God life was...It was just different and a much simpler time.

[@bigreaderpike]

I remember renting the first couple of generations of video game consoles that way trying them out before we bought them

[@UnchartedMedia]

I love that Family Video is the one trying to be nice and family friendly, as if they also didn't have a "secret back room"

[@timburton9514]

@@EYTSIRHC1and training videos!! (Porn)😂😂

[@JamesBelcher-o8i]

​They dont cell that​@@EYTSIRHC1

[@JL-sm6cg]

That's what I said. Oh, the irony.

[@kikithefangirl1033]

I was always so curious about that room as a child. My mother refused to tell me what was in it (for obvious reasons).

[@bestaround3323]

​@kikithefangirl1033 just boring adult content like movies on taxes

[@Ciborium]

Yes, taking people's money for a "license" to access digital media, then going T.U. without transferring that license to another service, is *PURE EVIL.* Straight to video rental hell with you, Redbox.

[@catherinegarmon3027]

That's basically what they all do, though. Reading the TOS and they have redefined "purchase". It's terrible.

[@katarh]

This is why as a consumer you should have a legal right to make a backup copy of anything you purchased the license to. And that's a hill I'm willing to die on.

[@mwater_moon2865]

Worst part of streaming is it doesn't work without a decent internet connection!! We moved to a big city, but my mom and dad are in the country, so they had the netflix disc service until it died, they had DSL until 2021, like that was the only option. They still can't stream on the cable internet they do have, it'll stop every few minutes to buffer it. At least Amazon will let you download the whole thing to watch at once, but my dad is still mad about discs disappearing and has pretty much said he'll never buy a "digital" copy of anything if he can't DL and burn it to a disc himself.

[@Silence3157]

@@katarh Yep. If buying isn't owning, then pirating isn't stealing.

[@Adamdidit]

@@katarh That is not even a hill to die on. It's a flat field with room for thousands.

[@ariadnefrolich7243]

Hollywood Videos and Blockbuster were my family's go-to. I miss them. Memories.....

[@TraceguyRune]

I remember Hollywood video had a service where they would clean your PS1 CDs.

[@davidparrish1133]

Too close to home. My parents had a bait and tackle shop. When they closed, the people that rented the store - wait for it - had video tape rentals in their bait and tackle shop.

[@PelafinaLievre]

And for us it was the tanning beds. And I think they also had a secret room

[@andrewc5750]

My first job was at Blockbuster in the late 90s. It was insane how busy we were then on Friday and Saturday nights.

[@KahunaPuffin]

And THAT'S why I'm still buying physical copies of my favorite films! Not even Amazon can be trusted to keep your digital purchases up forever! PS: Hollywood Video was the best!

[@hellhound1389]

I also prefer an actual copy on DVD or Blu-ray. However in my town we had a mom and pop video rental. It was a gas station and deli with some of the best Italian sandwiches. Plus the owners loved horror movies so that's mainly what they stocked. I guess that's where my affection for horror movies came from 👻

[@ritaherrerabailey9880]

I was reading something a while back about a lot of old disney movies were being vaulted & replaced by more "liberal" versions/re-makes.

[@barbaraborgia3289]

@@ritaherrerabailey9880that’s why I try to find old Disney dvds at thrift stores.

[@ShinKyuubi]

@@ritaherrerabailey9880 Yeah....people who are overly sensitive about the kind of stuff that was in the past want all that gone and make it hard to get ahold of....it's why you can't even find reruns on Boomerang (which itself and Cartoon Network are going under now) of Speedy from Looney Tunes cause too many people complained about how he was a racist stereotype.....90% of the people complaining were NOT Mexican apparently....the people that were SUPPOSED to be offended, apparently they actually like him.

[@rebekahashe4023]

Same here!

[@nottelling9472]

Very well put together. Spent 14 years merchandising Redbox. The fields last day of merchandising was June 18. Lasted way longer than I thought it would. Great job with great people. Sad way for us to end. Thank you Matt. You gave me good laugh and brought back happy memories.

[@ChadRazorback]

I need a video of circuit city and radio shack trying to figure out how best buy is still alive.

[@sovietunion7643]

target is too expensive, walmart and costco rarely have the selection you need (and have ass return policies for walmart), best buy sells a lot of good modern electronics for modestly decent prices while having a good selection and a whole department to help you find what you need compared to target having like 1 guy who MIGHT know sorta what he is doing

[@Lightspeeds]

​@@sovietunion7643they also managed to keep amiibos in stock consistently when compared to everyone else.

[@gianfeliciano9816]

@@sovietunion7643 Laterally any flea market has a DVD/video game store. And FYE is still a thing and has a pretty decent selection to.

[@TraceguyRune]

Ugggg. I really really want Radio Shack back

[@zachbrenner9959]

Or trying to figure out how micro-center became a thing.

[@spartaninvirginia]

Shout out to the thousands of mom and pop shops. I miss you dearly.

[@Bacopa68]

The Vietnamese mafia owned ones where the back room was bigger than the main floor held out the longest. Yeah, I saw your Houston 100 Club bribe sticker and your Texas Sherrif's Association sticker allows to murder customers in accord with your red and yellow stripes showing your Nationalist gang allegiance. Just here to rent "The River Wild" and get away safely. Yes, I understand you will torture me if I do not rewind.

[@lew526]

The "white hat" and "black hat" mom and pop stores were a nice touch. 😄

[@jacqslabz]

All the outfits are top notch

[@TheNightWatcher1385]

The fact that Family Video was actually doing well before Covid made it all the more sad when it went away.

[@chainsawsubtlety9828]

Buy physical media. You only get charged once. They can't take it back. They can't change it, ten years from now, when it gets deemed "problematic".

[@hardcharging]

This! So much this! Disney edits the shit out of their classics at this point. The Small One no longer has the merchant barbershop trio saying "even cheat a little if we must!" and any digital version of the Gargoyles episodes has edited out what they seem to be too violent (such as the few times Goliath actually went for the kill).

[@batsonelectronics]

and if you even need the money, you have something tangible to sell.

[@rebekahashe4023]

Agreed!

[@Murph_gaming]

Even physical media like video games aren't what it used to be. Most of the actual game isn't on the disc anymore.

[@professorhaystacks6606]

@@hardcharging Had to look up that 'small one' reference. That's weird as literally every human character in it is Jewish, so I don't know that you can really call that Jewish stereotyping.

[@verukas71]

They still owe my daughter over $30 dollars for a rental she turned in, but the machine said she didn't. They admitted they owed her back that money, but never repaid her.

[@KarmikCykle]

My Blockbuster's overnight return slot was basically just the slot and a cabinet with wheels and a hole cut in the back, and sometimes the cabinet would get bumped forward slightly and returns would just fall behind/underneath it, then they'd hit you with late fees.

[@verukas71]

@@KarmikCykle That's terrible! I forgot about those slots.

[@JoeJoe-wp1vv]

Same here, I turned in a movie, I pressed "Return Movie" and it said "Insert" and then it took it, and all of a sudden the screen went blank and said, "We're sorry this Kiosk is not working please go to another location. But it kept my movie and by then the phone number was already off and the email was fake. They owe me $30.

[@verukas71]

@@JoeJoe-wp1vv Goodness, and they wonder why they went bankrupt. They kept putting off my daughter. That isn't how you treat loyal customers.

[@ziminvaderofirk6157]

Back in like 2010, me and my parents use to go to a local mom and pop store, but we stopped when they tried to hit us with a $120.00 late fee. The employees said we could pay $60.00 now and he would remove the fee. We didn't pay, we didn't return, and I just bought what ever movies I wanted from then on.

[@laderius.]

Hollywood Video appreciation comment. Everybody can't be a starter.

[@justindorsey6184]

I worked there in High School when you could rent either VHS or DVD's. We had to wear a tuxedo shirt and vest, it was super fancy.

[@StoicLion]

There was a Hollywood Video and a Family Video near my house, tho at separate times. And, at my previous employer, I had to negotiate a lease buyout of a Hollywood Video location. Part of the documentation included the hundreds of HV locations closing in the next few weeks.

[@TheSolidSnakeOil]

Just here to represent Errol's. Eating but Blockbuster. RIP.

[@mattm7798]

LOL, I liked HV and worked there for a bit. Still can't believe we stayed open til 12am and were never robbed.

[@justindorsey6184]

@@mattm7798 Oh man, we got robbed a few times. I remember a guy walking out the door with a huge garbage bag full of Pokemon videos. We were told by management NOT to chase the thieves. It was pretty wild because we just had to go back to work like nothing happened.

[@The_Robbing_Narrator]

I know the CEO of Redbox is looking up at us right now 🕊🕊🌹

[@deed5811]

Baking cookies without an oven 🫢

[@CoasterMan13Official]

He's probably screaming up at us. And I bet he is in terrible pain.

[@peterlang777]

UP 😂 and in the afterlife geography that makes him in....

[@aland7236]

Thoughts and Prayers.

[@Stephie2007]

​@@peterlang777 HELLO!! 👋🏻😂 Am I too late for the roasty toasty CEO jokes?

[@rhorto01]

It is weird that people didn't realize you don't "buy" anything from streaming services you rent it, and when they want to take it away it is gone and you are SOL.

[@hardcharging]

I think the pirate talent scouts/conscriptors are still hiring though.

[@batsonelectronics]

and they cost about what a physical disc costs. I have a huge movie library because I bought actual discs and I spent not much more than digital.

[@randomgrinn]

Humans are not smart. And that is why people with no morals become billionaires.

[@TurboLoveTrain]

Computer science major here (graduated late 90s) I watched with joy as the internet rose to prominence: excited that it would finally displace the cancer that is TV I watched with horror as no one bothered at all to try to learn how the internet works much less how to navigate it. The IQ test in modern America is simple: if someone has a TV subscription and/or streaming it's a guarantee they're a brain dead zombie.

[@professorhaystacks6606]

In the case of Redbox they had a 'rent' and 'buy' option, iirc, so not quite the same as a streaming service, which is sold as a subscription. Yeah the fine print said buy isn't buy, but I'd appeal to the 'no unexpected terms' rule of contracts, particularly contracts of adhesion.

[@tcerathi]

You know, Blockbuster is throwing a lot of shade for how sleazy they were around 'late fees'!

[@toshamccarty5115]

Yes, they would literally charge you more in late fees than what it would cost to buy the movie new. From time to time, I have nightmares about late movie rentals.

[@professorhaystacks6606]

"We no longer have late fees. Now we call them restocking fees" as one employee at my local store said late in their lifetime. We had someone arguing about returning "Fellowship of the Ring". It could be bought for 20 dollars at the Walmart down the street, but their restocking fee if you lost it was like 100 dollars as they had to cover the fee they are charged to legally rent it. Thing is the DVDs for new releases often didn't have the Blockbuster labeling on it... the guy wondered about if he could just go buy the disk and put it in a blockbuster box. Didn't hear how that one turned out.

[@steamboatwillee]

Dang, Movie Gallery! I forgot all about those!

[@thomasallisonstabler3478]

Remember when Troy University’s football stadium was “Movie Gallery Stadium”

[@wturner777]

Growing up in a small town, we didn’t have Blockbuster. But we had Movie Gallery.

[@Caoimhin777]

“Netflix died too?” “No…well kind of.” So accurate 😂

[@TheRealVenom448]

I think sold their soul is more accurate, same with Hulu.

[@thejestor9378]

@@TheRealVenom448Netflix is reconsolidating like all their stuff into one site instead of unique individual ones based on region/country.

[@RebelLeigh]

Netflix was reincarnated

[@Adamdidit]

@@TheRealVenom448 Hulu didn't sell its soul because it didn't start with one. Cable networks owned it from day 1. Netflix didn't sell its soul because it didn't actually sell.

[@Lemuel928]

Pokémon is still unlimited with Netflix.

[@hellhound1389]

I still remember renting VHS movies from the gas station/deli in our small town. They had a huge selection of horror movies. 3/4 of all their movies were horror movies. My uncle would take me down there and we would come back with a dozen Italian beef subs and a copy of either ghoulies, maximum overdrive, or the newest Friday the thirteenth

[@michaelscott6022]

I was once part of a team of engineers contracted to develop a machine you'd hook up at home to your TV and internet, and it would occasionally pop out a sensor and count how many people were in the room, to make sure nobody was cheating the system and buying a 'ticket' for 'one person' for a home theater. This was around 10 years ago, but even then we were like, "This is going to be as effective as a rubber in a convent."

[@Stevarooni]

"So what happened to all of the digital movies that people bought?" [Movie studios] 😯. We don't talk about that.

[@TheAyeAye1]

If you love it keep it on physical media.

[@randomgrinn]

If you can't hold it in your hand....you can't loan it to your friend...why do you think you, "bought" it? People are insane.

[@codeman99-dev]

@@randomgrinn Holding a disk in your hand is STILL a license. You don't own that movie. You own rights to watch that movie with that exact disk. You may not make a copy and give that copy to the friend. No. You loan *both* the disk and the license to the friend. If they don't return the disk, you don't have license rights to that movie any more... It's barely different.

[@TurboLoveTrain]

@@randomgrinn The general population lacks the intellectual capacity to comprehend the nature of the internet much less how to navigate it. Before the 2000s anonymity was the standard. No one put personal information on the internet ever for any reason--now idiots put their kids pictures on the internet and their life story. These same idiots don't even know the difference between the WWW and the internet and shell out money for the stupidest shit.

[@TurboLoveTrain]

@@codeman99-dev Thanks for explaining your total lack of comprehension of copyright.

[@dylanshort1661]

Damn, Redbox is dead, and I guarantee you my Dollar General will still have the machine for years to come.

[@spencercorby4571]

Yeah or they'll just move it inside in the middle of an aisle

[@mariaskabardonis8353]

I see some at walgreens

[@CJODell12]

My local CVS already removed their Redbox a couple months ago.

[@mariaskabardonis8353]

Some still work apparently I am thinking of trying mine at Walgreens

[@grizly116]

Im just glad you included Hollywood Video! That was my place and it severely is left out of the movie rental talk!

[@TraceguyRune]

Was it a regional store maybe? I had one near me in the midwest.

[@jaredhicks5655]

​@TraceguyRune it's the Pepsi to blockbusters coke (so no, it was a big chain)

[@soonerfan4321]

The subtle jab that 9 people in line constitutes a successful business model in this day and age is *chef's kiss*

[@appo9357]

2:26 which is why I still buy physical media.

[@zakwan10]

Exactly! physical media collector to this day, I am of the belief you dont own it til you actually hold it in your hands, or it can be as Matt said "poof, gone"

[@SunshineCatwoman]

@@zakwan10 Not if you save it to your computer.

[@JoybuzzerX]

Same. Told everyone buying digital was them scamming you

[@appo9357]

@@SunshineCatwoman what if your computer dies?

[@kon-lun-os-kuh-pee571]

@@appo9357 well if you save it to a ssd you can swap it into a new computer pretty easily most parts can be swapped nowadays

[@stv8349]

We bought our first VCR in the late 70s because my husband worked second shift and missed out on TV shows. We were so happy when a small Mom & Pop video rental store opened up nearby. I'll never forget that the owner said video rentals were going to rise in popularity. He was one of the pioneers.

[@stephenlea5765]

Redbox was great for entertaining the kids on those cross country driving vacations. We grab 2 or 3 movies to get us to the next Redbox. Don’t know how many movies I’ve only heard & never actually watched!

[@mwater_moon2865]

Oooh, that's brilliant! We had two across the street from each other about a mile from us, so we'd rent from whoever had the title we wanted, and return to the one on this side of the street to avoid the traffic light.

[@Bacopa68]

I liked watching TV in other cities, watching shows I didn't usually watch, and watching incomprehensible local news with bad sets and editing because they were small city markets. Made me feel like a big city boy. We had Marvin ZIndler, back home. They just had some hick.

[@stephenlea5765]

@@Bacopa68 Eeeeyyyee Witness News! Grew up in Houston.

[@amyrylander2260]

Thanks for Movie Gallery! Enjoyed 15 years working there!

[@adamhenderson6943]

Now I'm just feeling nostalgic.

[@kennenandersen]

We have the world's last Blockbuster here. Still open!

[@natashadavis2959]

Where?

[@eljefecom]

Bend, Oregon

[@malamutehunter]

We had the second to last one in North Pole Alaska!

[@YouthfulOne]

@@eljefecomI saw that it was closing too. HQ was in Wilsonville and I think the Oregonian is where I saw the story. So which is actually true? Open or closed?

[@jdb2002]

​@@YouthfulOne The one in Bend is still open, according to Google. The one in Alaska closed 2018

[@davidcole2337]

Blast from the past with Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video..

[@jayr.3720]

You knew the entire company was a rental. Took the baton from snail mail Netflix and rode it to the end of its demand. Pretty short ride.

[@John_Locke_108]

Over 20 years. Pretty good run if you ask me.

[@jayr.3720]

@@John_Locke_108 mmhm and the profit margins for those last 8 years or so prob 2 bags of chips and a sharpie 😆

[@hollybarker9057]

​@@jayr.3720actually you'd be wrong. Out of all of CSSE's companies, Redbox was the only one earning revenue.

[@acer9494]

The Gamefly scene got me 😂

[@Vandakai]

Same here and I was def not expecting to see them.. However, I def agree that is exactly where they should be. lol

[@BobBob-eb4io]

Wow, i just got a lot of commercial flashbacks. i forgot gamefly existed

[@sbradshaw1886]

I died laughing when I saw Gamefly. People did not take advantage of Gamefly and try out games before buying.

[@pathfindersavant3988]

Blockbuster wants all the smoke, and honestly I'm here for it. Some of my earliest memories were of going to blockbuster and renting Kirby and the Crystal Shard for the N64.

[@mwater_moon2865]

Ah yes, back in the day when Video games were finished when they released them, none of this "3 hours of downloading updates before you can play your game (and it will still be buggy as hell)" BS.

[@inagaddadavidahoney]

​@mwater_moon2865 Agree, why even have a disc if I have to download forever before starting the game. Not to mention DLC's and free to play (pay to enjoy) games.

[@Alex-tf7cs]

I still have some old xbox games that my dad bought us at the hollywood video near our house 15 years ago. It's a banh mi shop now. There was a local video store in the same shopping center that managed to survive up until 2017, but now it's an animal clinic and instead we have a (pretty good, decently popular) goth band that named themselves after the store. I miss them.

[@johnharris6655]

Back in 2012, Southpark did an episode where Randy bought a Blockbuster video and guys were robbing Red Boxes only to find there was no money in them.

[@PastorK4Noles]

Matt you're a true genius!

[@Sly88Frye]

I'm happy to see that Hollywood Video was brought up. There were a lot of video rental stores in my hometown growing up. Definitely Blockbuster was here but for whatever reason my family and I always chose Hollywood video. Actually just 4 hours North in eureka I actually found a video store that looks exactly like Hollywood video with literally the same logo except they changed the color and change the words and it's called spotlight video. I guess they got away with that because Hollywood Video no longer exists

[@colindblair]

Family Video had the bead curtains, was really a land acquisition company that used the rental stores as a default, self-owned tenant, and is currently a broadband internet provider so technically is still the way that many Midwesterners are still watching their movies. The end of the skit was really missing DIVX and Flexplay.

[@divinecomedian2]

One local video store had the XXX videos up on the highest shelf that required an employees to reach them. The covers were still plainly visible to me as a kid 😬

[@roberto9094]

Now its all free in HQ, its best to never watch to help ones health

[@lyokian]

...I miss my Hollywood Video/Taco Bell Friday nights from when I was a kid.

[@89playstation65]

It was pizza hut for me

[@msthecommentator2863]

Hollywood Video! I know everyone remembers Blockbuster but HV was my haven for movies and games as a kid. 😊

[@eaglescout1984]

I think Divx should be in video rental hell, too.

[@John_Locke_108]

They're in their own special hell with Circuit City. Friends for eternity.

[@vedinthorn]

Because they supplied the world with a reasonably good, for the time, codec to make DVD movies fit on the average PC?

[@ObsdnBlck]

@@vedinthornNot the same. Different Divx. The one he's talking about was a video 'rental' service offered by Circuit City where you had to have special players and could keep the discs, but had to pay a fee every 48 hours to continue watching the video past the initial 'rental' period'. It bombed so hard it killed Circuit City as well.

[@vedinthorn]

@@ObsdnBlck huh...first I heard of it, but I didn't even know circuit city rented videos. I didn't live anywhere near one. History is weird.

[@TurboLoveTrain]

Divx is a media player used to access digital media--it was never itself a rental platform. That's like saying fuck H.264/AVC when referring to Netflix. Do they teach anything about technology in public schools at all!?!

[@cherrypickingcards2413]

I use to work for Family Video from 2015-17 and had a blast! It was easy to tell streaming was taking over but we ALWAYS had a nice amount of customers each day and the regulars made it worth it all.

[@whoopworldwide6028]

Hollywood video help me through my early years with my N64!!!

[@steadmanuhlich6734]

Matt has such a great talent for character, and an outstanding ability to play these multiple roles in one video. Cleverly done, smoothly edited, nice changes in costume and props and accents too. Bravo Matt! You really have a talent for this kind of comedy. (I share your videos on FB to expand your audience, as you deserve a big one.)

[@deucefloyd9858]

Ok, I'm just gonna assume Hastings was abducted by cicadas.

[@divinecomedian2]

Lmao. They outlasted Blockbuster for a while since they actually sold media. Then when they started selling Funco stuff you knew it was the beginning of the end.

[@Warvvolf]

I miss Hastings.

[@speculative]

Hastings was the best! Ours played "Happy Trails" when it was closing for the night.

[@paulwhite9242]

I had a friend working in their corporate offices a year or two before they went under. He said it was depressing as hell because everyone knew the writing was on the wall but the higher ups still acted like they were in denial

[@benmonroe_the_1]

I still miss Blockbuster. Changed my town when we first got one. Many a Fri. Fam Movie night of my youth was spend picking a movie & game for the weekend at that store.

[@chloeedmund4350]

I love that Blockbuster got to "rewind" him.

[@Kirkwood-Videos]

I've recently noticed that all of the RedBox machines are gradually disappearing from town. The movies were incredibly outdated, and the longest line in front of a RedBox machine I've ever seen included two people... myself included. God, I miss Blockbuster... 😢

[@lukebrown5395]

R.I.P Movie Mart gave me so many great childhood memories mostly by renting the same movies over and over again.

[@hellhound1389]

I rented Jaws so many times my uncle bought me a copy. We had a mom and pop gas station and deli that rented out movies it was called the corner store. It had a huge selection of horror movies and the best Italian sandwiches I've ever had

[@lukebrown5395]

@@hellhound1389things were different in the 90s-2000s.

[@jeannineguarino4010]

This used to be our weekend treat . I really miss those days. Renting more movies and games then we could physically handle. Not to mention the late fees. Those were the days.

[@nancylayden6871]

I love it when you do these kind of videos!

[@stevebates33]

Family Video in Northern Michigan lasted until covid. Way longer than Blockbuster. Growing up in Colorado, the grocery store video rentals were big in the 80s and early 90s.

[@tompiper1480]

I miss Block Buster, and Hollywood Video

[@walmartsucks1995]

here in southern florida we still have a functioning and active Redbox at a walgreens nearby

[@TheBaldr]

Threre are something like 20,000+ remaining, but officially, they are in the process of being removed. Technically there are still open Blockbuster videos, but run by mom and pop.

[@TheUltraMagaDawg]

Just noticed they were closed down here in Jacksonville. RIP Redbox

[@goaway3717]

I worked at a tiny mom & pop video store chain for several years in the early 90's. It started with a rent-to-own side of the business until video rentals proved popular enough to sustain the business on it's own.

[@terencejones9044]

I used to work at a video store many years ago: Video King 1992-2005( when they shut down ) & Adult Super Store 2007-2011(when they went out of business). Man,I miss working at thos places. Good times. R.I.P. Video Stores.😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@Kbrady8207]

Thank you for calling Movie Gallery of Rainbow City where the hits are here, now, guaranteed. The featured hit this month is…… So many timesI had to answer the phone…..

[@detranewhouse5341]

I worked at a mom and pop video store in high school (also worked at McDs at the same time; I was about my coins early in life!). That was such an easy and fun job! The owner insisted we pick movies to play all day, as long as it wasn’t the X rated pick we were given free range to play whatever we wanted. Made straightening the shelves and dusting so much easier to get through. We also checked out customers and rewinding videos of those that weren’t being kind 😂. Miss those days!

[@macklyn]

The special room in the back, kinda like Baptists at the liquor store. You are nailing Matt!

[@AnotherAgnostic]

Who would have thought Blockbuster would have survived longer than Redbox.

[@JimmieHawk84]

as a song once said. It's been a long day without you my friend. and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

[@Warvvolf]

Don't need no angle dust.

[@TheOrlandoLassus]

Back in 2005 my wife worked nights part time at Movie Gallery. At that time it was billed as "trendy, family, and great entertainment." Holy moly how the landscape changed.

[@Dee-jd6ym]

Ah I remember the game fly days. Order a game and not actually receive it until 2 years later when you forgot you ordered it.

[@Lightspeeds]

They're much better about it now. It only takes about 3 days at least and a week at most before a new game reaches my house.

[@inagaddadavidahoney]

I think it was around 2013-14 when our Blockbuster finally closed. It was very sad. My oldest, who was 5 or 6, still talks about how fun going to the video store was. There was just something special about going and not really knowing what movie and/or video game you would come home with.

[@madisonsummey647]

Mom and pops store also in a laundry mat. I remember that as a kid 😁🤣

[@jpendowski7503]

Loved the Video rental days. Been to every brand and dual purpose. I cried when I finally found ‘All Horror Video’ it was in the middle of its closing sale.

[@89playstation65]

So buying a digital copy of a movie...but then having that digital movie vanish once redbox disappears. Tell me how piracy isnt immoral again?

[@BmaGrl]

Ah, Video Xpress! We miss you! The second best job I ever had behind working at the Bama Theater in Tuscaloosa in the early 90s where all of the stores in the shopping center gave us discounts in exchange for free movie admission.

[@debbiedouglas2927]

This is so spot on 😂

[@bthsr7113]

Miss you, Family Video. Miss you, your free kids movies, and your corner for renting games. At least your shell is still in use.

[@firstcynic92]

Always get your "hands" on the "physical" media. By which I mean get digital copies and put them on backed up hard drives. A $100 4tb portable hard drive can store about 2000 hours of 1080p video.

[@starweb443]

Missed a chance for a Napster cameo in hell.

[@cabledad65]

P2P is still active today, although Napster as a platform is pretty well gone. Pirates will always find a way.

[@michelledml3162]

I miss Family video! When we were dirt poor and had no cable, that place kept us alive in the free kid section movies.

[@ShelleyFrank-qh5or]

You never fail to keep it interesting!

[@dfb23dfb23]

The wink Sleazy Mom & Pop gave!💀

[@A2thaLO]

I miss blockbuster video. 😒

[@thedungeondelver]

I don't. Not in the least. In fact I don't miss most video rental places. Of all of these, Redbox was the _least_ terrible (the kiosks and video selections; not the company. Internally the company was awful).

[@purplecowadoom]

@@thedungeondelver I used Blockbuster almost exclusively for video game rentals. I was able to play (and beat) nearly every single game on N64 or Gamecube (that was ever released in the US) on a shoestring budget. Blockbuster rentals was the reason I was able to do that. Do I wish I just owned all the best games I ever finished? Yes. If Blockbuster still existed, would I own most of the games in my collection right now? No. I saved a *ton* of money, and learned which games were good through personal experience at a time when people couldn't just go online and look up whether a game was good or not.

[@arandompasserby7940]

@@thedungeondelver This right here is why you never got invited to parties. :p

[@bowlnow824]

I had some really good memories at Blockbuster Video. I remember me and my best friend going there renting a couple Nintendo 64 games or PlayStation game and playing until two or three in the morning

[@A2thaLO]

@@bowlnow824 Yes! That is a great memory. Times were simpler back then. 😊

[@bearmation93]

Another one was Hollywoood Video. That was my spot back when I lived in Pittsburgh.

[@pyrojkl]

FYI If purchasing doesn't mean you own the video then you shouldn't be paying for it. Be wary when considering digital only sales unless the company is providing a file for you to download.

[@AdamYJ]

Things used to be simple. Buying was buying. Now, instead it’s a licensing agreement. When big companies license things from other companies, they have lawyers go over the details. We’re just expected to click “Yes, I have read and agreed to the terms”.

[@mwater_moon2865]

@@AdamYJ And then when the restaurant they own kills your wife, they claim that clicking that box means you can't sue!! Disney for the video hell win....

[@nickm9102]

This is a perfect example of why I prefer a physical copy. This was why I hate all the streaming platforms. You pay for them to decide that they are going to get rid of what you want/like.

[@StarWarsSurvivalist]

The Family Video by my house was very unique and had a very unique shape, sort of like a small Circuit City. When it went out of business, it became a Dollar General. I need to go inside to see what it was like, since the shape of the store was very awkward.

[@HariSeldon913]

The Family Video by my house is now a veterinarian office. There's another nearby that went straight from Family Video to Family Dollar.

[@sammyg1631]

"Netflix died too?" "ah no. Well...kinda" Like Button smashed!

[@Nurichiri]

Just passed a Redbox in front of a Walgreens the other day and wondered if anyone still used it.

[@foureyedelf6151]

They all have signs on them now saying "This unit is no longer in service."

[@Nurichiri]

@@foureyedelf6151 I happened to have to run to Walgreens so I went to look. The Redbox here had no sign. I didn't bother to try it to see if it worked though.

[@bigt3785]

The movie rental place we always went to had the coolest premier movie posters you could buy. They weren't like those cheap $5 posters that you can get at Walmart now. AND they had really cool, niche videos you normally wouldn't see at Walmart.

[@xliquidflames]

For us, it was a Miller's grocery store that had a video rental section right as you walk in the front door. But, in that same shopping center there was also a mom n pop video store that just did video rentals called Video Tyme. It wasn't sleazy, though, and they didn't have a hidden area. I actually hung out there a lot because I had a crush on the girl that worked there. We were both 16 and I had nothing to do after school so I hung out at the video store. There was an Eckerd's next to Miller's where my mom got her film developed and her prescriptions filled. This was all in a truck stop town called Hawthorne, Florida about 30 minutes outside of Gainesville. Go Gators.

[@JBinFL]

Hawthorne? Trenton. Go Gators 😂

[@xliquidflames]

@@JBinFL Trenton! Small world.

[@Schlanket]

I still remember when my dad got DVDs from RedBox. Those were great times. The RedBox at the Walgreens near my house probably lasted at least until 2022.

[@lewisdutra6104]

My god I hate that even Red Box out business...Yes, I'm that guy that like to go stores to browse movies. Kind of give me a reason to leave the house and interact with people to practice my manners/socialize. Honestly love and hate Streaming Services sometimes.

[@mwater_moon2865]

Worst part of streaming is it doesn't work without a decent internet connection!! We moved to a big city, but my mom and dad are in the country, so they had the netflix disc service until it died, they had DSL until 2021, like that was the only option. They still can't stream on the cable internet they do have, it'll stop every few minutes to buffer it. At least Amazon will let you download the whole thing to watch at once, but my dad is still mad about discs disappearing.

[@sauceboss7571]

RIP! I so miss browsing for movies on a Friday evening to get us through the weekend.Great times.VHS or Betamax lol.But,for real😞

[@deaconblooze1]

Beaded curtain? Ours had saloon doors.

[@Steelflight773]

I loved the Movie Gallery in Dora and was sad to see it go in 2006. Probably the number one shutdown business I miss the most in life. Since you live in the same area as me you probably remember Village Video, Video Hits, and Mega Hits. Video Hits was the only rental place available awhile back. Ol Randy had a monopoly on the rentals there for awhile.

[@MrsAlmaTrumble]

No one can replace Blockbuster.

[@barbaralee7385]

I have been telling friends for like 13 years that this digital media thing was going to backfire on them big time. When you buy a physical copy of a movie you control how you view that media and when. You can open it and watch it right now or never open it at all. It’s up to you. With digital there’s too many strings and most of them benefit everyone but the consumer.

[@jeremycampbell4021]

God I miss Family Video. I'm glad he's up there in heaven. That place was my childhood when it came to renting things back in the 90s and 2000s.