WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! A (dead) BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO!!

/ thisisdanbell
/ thisisdanbell

[@VivaLaCody1]

Does anyone remember Hollywood Video??

[@Cnw8701]

Yep! There was a store location that was converted into a used electronics store called Media Exchange back when I lived in El Paso. They still had an old Game Crazy sign up, yet I didn't notice it until WAY after I stopped going there regularly before I moved. I used to get Game Crazy ads and catalogs mailed to me all the time as a kid, and lived near a location back in the day. My mom, however, preferred West Coast video (even though Dayton, OH, my hometown, is nowhere near the west coast) and Blockbuster in terms of sales, deals, and movie selection.

[@NoKillMemphis]

yes Hollywood Video and BlockBuster were across the street from each other. Hollywood stayed open a year or two longer than BlockBuster.

[@benjifish1510]

Yep they turned the one nearby me into a panera bread

[@lesleysmith6779]

There used to be three here. One became a physical therapy center, one was divided and became a Potbelly and an empty AT&T store, and the last one is still empty.

[@samtron5000]

I worked at Game Crazy in Hollywood for a couple years :)

[@bhume7535]

I still have a gamecube game I never returned... oops

[@SusieSynth]

keep it. those are hard to find.

[@DrGreen-ob6eb]

Free GameCube.

[@rwdplz1]

When Dish Network bought Blockbuster and its assets, they also purchased Blockbuster's accounts receivable, so they could potentially go after people who owed late fees (prior to their 'no more late fees' campaign), or sell that part of the business to a debt collection agency.

[@SHADOSTRYKR]

youre why they closed lol!

[@thisthatboy]

Same 😂😂 I have super Mario sunshine that we rented in 2004 and never gave back because our local blockbuster closed right after

[@traceeallen8471]

I worked at Blockbuster from 1996-1999. That was a fun place to work!

[@justusallison5793]

I miss video stores so much. Not necessarily Blockbuster, but the old mom and pops. Oh, memories...

[@Ginissexyx2]

I miss Blockbuster :(

[@flyingninja1234]

Me too!

[@RobertSmith-le8wp]

Doopliss 💕 I'm oddly nostalgic for anything from when I was a teenager, however, I always remember Blockbuster being pretty expensive. I had a mom and pops type video place that I liked better, they had every conceivable movie you could ever hope for. As I recall, Blockbuster was $5 for new releases, and only for 1 or 2 days and heaven forbid if you return a movie late or lose one.

[@ZephyrhillsSS]

Jiminie Kookie me, too! It was nice to be able to just browse all the movies they had even if we didn't end up renting anything.

[@mlai3126]

I miss going to Blockbuster Friday night looking for a movie. I think looking for the movie was more fun then actually watching it.

[@may6472]

Where I lived there was no Blockbuster😢 I missed out on a lot

[@SYIBOI]

My local Blockbuster is now an AAA location. Crazy how times change

[@WildDieWoodard]

Sorry, I am incapable of picturing a 15 year old Dan working for Blockbuster...

[@glorydancer4804]

Browsing around our huge Blockbuster store in Florida was actually more fun than watching the videos I finally selected. I could spend hours in there!!! Really miss those!

[@meghanmurphy9122]

damn this really takes me back because I used to go to blockbuster all the time!! Mostly for games but also for movies.

[@jrpwrld]

there's still some video stores open near where I live.. weird

[@darkjord5823]

Interesting Creepy and Abandoned how about now?

[@Gee-xb7rt]

James N there are still a few left around me, they are either indie flick stuff that isn't on netflix or porn. I think think you need a fairly sizable indie film crowd to keep one open.

[@stagmal9168]

family video is still doing pretty well. video stores are still around, they're just increasingly rare

[@GaMMERKitten]

Interesting Creepy and Abandoned Yeah, We have a Family Video open still

[@drmegaman]

August 2018 and there are still two Family Videos I know of in some nearby small towns

[@seaweed_tea]

Ah man, This takes me back to when I have five or so and my brothers would take me here when they needed movies. To this day I remember exactly where my BlockBuster used to be. The nostalgia I'm feeling is too much from this video.

[@BLVCKxvSCVLE]

Holy crap Blockbuster. Nostalgia.

[@jswatch9270]

I muss blockbuster video

[@play4u67]

Wow...We're losing (or have lost) our indoor malls, now our video stores... everything I've grown up with is just about obsolete now, this is very sad, to lose part of your history/childhood ):

[@play4u67]

*****~~ Omg, you are so right!!!! There was a favorite book store of mine I used to hang out at when I was a kid too (about 11, maybe 12 yrs old), my friend's mom owned it, not a huge store by any means, but it was a decent store..anyway, when I was 16 yrs old I stopped hanging out there, guess I took it for granted that it would always be there and then one day my friend's mom got sick and closed it for good...Man I sure do miss that place (you could listen to the records with headphones of the latest artists) so much fun was had by all who entered that store (lol)

[@404HandleNotFound]

I know. It's sad. :( Some of the best times I had as a kid were hanging out at Borders and at Waldenbooks. Grandma and I would rent movies and eat popcorn. Those were the good old days. Funnily enough now, I don't much like popcorn because it always gets stuck in my teeth.

[@chdreturns]

+Rabbit Moon In my city we have Plan 9 Records.

[@Cnw8701]

I know! It's crazy! But if you live out west or in parts of the south, malls are still alive and well, and only a handful have been closed or abandoned entirely. Most of said malls rarely ever get completely demolished and turned into empty, vacant lots. Instead, they typically get redeveloped or converted into a new shopping center, outlet mall, or big box retail stores which anchor said shopping centers.

[@perrypierce4182]

No, what is sad is that our childhood is corporate logos and consumerism. Our childhood should be comprised of mom and dad and grandparents and being around and with our family members all the time.

[@jennicase]

Netflix killed it

[@Shabeebstyle8]

And redbox

[@chdreturns]

+ItsJoseph Mc Yep and Blockbuster was way better than those two shitpiles... DumbBox and NetShit have very poor selections while Blockbuster had great selections.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

+chdreturns no they Edited movies and was way over priced thus they sucked!!

[@Candiecane908]

No, it didn't

[@Spawn674]

BBV killed BBV through bad management and not changing with the times fast enough.

[@dannyboy9311]

Lol. I don’t recall seeing that Blockbuster anywhere. Pretty cool you managed to find one in Lynchburg !!

[@dixienormous6969]

I miss the smell of blockbuster and the feel of the carpet that was in there. so much memories, I really miss it.

[@FeeventsPresents]

actually miss blockbuster. ..was like a treat lol x

[@midwesternexplorers8231]

It really was! A video game rental during a sleepover was the jams!

[@carolinewaite7185]

Remember Blockbuster lol!! All the best videos and a takeaway on a night in. Interesting you worked for them Dan. My friend did lots of perks!!!! Brilliant video - happy memories

[@charlottemoore6274]

Wills haircut is amazing it really suits him !!

[@KiloByte69]

In New York it was pronounced "Blockbusta".

[@penniesfromheavon]

holy wow! WILL looks so much better with his hair cut!

[@jupinski]

+penniesfromheavon yeahh! he's killin' it

[@nicolahampton5497]

There is actually a Blockbuster still up and running in Sandy, Oregon... my kids love to go in there to get the movies I watched growing up in the 80's

[@sharonbeckett4853]

We have an empty Blockbusters here in the north east of England so anytime you are in the area pop in for a cup of tea! lol

[@tessaflashner6265]

It's funny my daughters day care is in an old Blockbuster building and they still have the quick drop by the front door!

[@jhonen32629]

Wil looks fantastic with his new cut!

[@NASCARROCKS]

There is quite a few Blockbusters still open if you look on their site yall see quite a few still going

[@aishbacon4468]

DARTH DRACONIAN That was 11 months ago....it changed.

[@chroniclea9058]

They're still big in Alaska since there isn't much internet there.

[@may6472]

Do A Kpop Roll Some still exist believe it or not

[@kyle7412]

DARTH DRACONIAN theres a bunch still in alaska

[@Hammster69official]

The corporate stores are all gone, as is the Blockbuster company. However, DiSH bought the marks out of bankruptcy court and now franchises about a dozen independently owned and operated stores.

[@larryinc64]

In my local area there are 2 former BlockBusters that became a Dollar Store and a Liquor Store, both still have some of the old remnants of BB. The Liquor Store has the Enter and Exit signs, and the Dollar Store has the Drop Box, Enter and Exit, Many of the shelving, and the giant BB roadside sign on a stick still up.

[@dena81]

so many old memories of going in a Blockbuster to get my movie of the week or video game and then microwave popcorn.

[@Sutekh94]

There used to be a Blockbuster in Cookeville, TN but it went out of business a while ago. The building's now a pediatric dentist's office, though, as far as I can remember, part of one of the old Blockbuster signs still stood. I believe there was also a Hollywood Video just a few blocks down the road, but that went out of business as well and got turned into a Firehouse Subs.

[@Jason_Phillips3679]

This was interesting. I remember Blockbuster, then there was a video store called Hollywood Video I used to rent from.

[@moon.gf.]

There's an empty Hollywood Video corporate office in Willsonville, Oregon. I've also seen an old store turned into an antique shop in Eugene, Oregon. It's called "Hollywood Treasures & Re-Runs". They just knocked off the part of the sign that says "video" and kept the "Hollywood" part. When I was about 4, I walked a block down the street to Blockbuster all by myself because I was mad at my mom. It didn't occur to me until I got there that I would need money to rent a video so I walked back. My mom was riding around in a golf cart with a security guard yelling for me. Needless to say she was pissed lol.

[@Sleeve_Did_It]

I think I remember that Blockbuster Video store. I was going to Liberty University back in the late 90s, and on my 21st birthday of all nights, I got together with some friends, including one who lived off-campus, and we all crammed into my 1986 Plymouth, went to Blockbuster, and rented an Anime. (I think it was "Dirty Pair: Project Eden, but it's been almost 20 years.) That was probably the only time I went to that particular location.

[@alexandriamount3069]

My husband use to work for blockbuster while they were closing down all the stores. We have random cleaning supplies and a box of old promo gift cards. I'm also pretty sure that at least 80% of our DVDs collect came from is "severance" package aka "we are sorry you are Lapith your job please take home what ever you want"

[@DDBurnett1]

On a whim, I just checked where the last Blockbusters are, and apparently, one of the last ten remaining stores is only about twenty miles from me in Sandy, Oregon. I'll have to check it out soon.

[@seanz6397]

There was Blockbuster in Fallbrook, California that was open until 2013 or 2014 ! Very surprised it survived that long. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@MissLeslee229]

Was the video you mentioned by Chris Stuckman? I love his videos! Anyway, thanks for the quick video! I feel old that I remember the time when Blockbuster was the place to be on Friday nights!

[@hollywoodmafia4841]

Such an awesome video, talk about an ancient grounds here. every 90s kid like me knows what it was like to go to Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. Please God give us back Blockbuster Video and we'll give you back Netflicks and Red Box....

[@Gary86]

My local Blockbuster in Beenleigh, Queensland is now closing down. It was the last remaining video store in town.

[@RetroPixelCanada]

My hometown still has a standalone Blockbuster building in a plaza parking lot that has yet to be rented out since closure!

[@skrom1980]

Wow it's been ages since I've seen a Blockbuster Video. Great find and nice haircut Will!

[@ourevilone]

we dont have a blockbuster but we still have a mom and pop video store its really nice because netflix has crap and sometimes downloading movies you get shit quality. and just sometimes you want the nice browsing of physical shelves and boxes and discs.

[@wyattneal2899]

ssd27 what's wrong with netflix

[@victoriagarza3956]

Me too! Blockbuster was my first job! Loved it! Friday nights were the worst!!!

[@iloveappleyoutube7198]

0:00 HOW DARE THEY MESS UP THE SIGN LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Katreyn_]

I worked at Blockbuster all highschool. Always feels so weird remembering its been gone quite a while now in a lot of places in the US.

[@ignisdracun4104]

Yeah, we still have a vacant Blockbuster store in Colorado Springs, and it was the one that I went to as a kid until it closed pretty late in Blockbuster’s bankruptcy

[@novinophobic5995]

Blockbuster was well into the 2000s.....

[@KarleaKALAMITII]

Not sure what you mean but blockbuster has been around since the mid 80's

[@keonta81]

Novinophobic yea it went into the 2010s too

[@chrislemaster2695]

Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and then changed to a 7 in late 2010 and then Dish Network brought Blockbuster mainly to compete with Red box and Netflix. By 2014 Dish Network killed the retired the Blockbuster name for good.

[@guzmanguzman3940]

There's like 2 (currently still in business) where I live in McAllen, Tx.

[@Oscaxr]

Yes there's also one in Weslaco! I think it's closing soon though 😥

[@spindalis79]

You RGV folks! :)

[@sassysam2121]

There is an empty Blockbuster near my house but what I find more interesting are all the Family Videos that are still around.

[@robhealey9888]

Worked as manager for Blockbuster 1985-89/1994-96 in San Diego

[@laureljade3476]

It's been nearly a decade since I was inside of a Blockbuster, last movie I rented was the Human Centipede. I remember paying my brother's late fee by a dollar #yourewelcome

[@southport97]

The Blockbuster empty shells have been converted into bingo halls, nail salons, check cashing stores, carpet/floor wholesales and mini churches.

[@LburgVAGuy]

Madison Heights..I live in Lynchburg,they turned the Blockbuster in Lynchburg into a doc in the box.I have a friend that works at Game Rush!It's funny I've been watching your videos the past 3 days nonstop and finally come across this lol

[@daveporter0217]

My father worked at several throughout the 90s. I have memories of helping with putting returns on shelves, as well as playing N64 most of the summer.

[@campermike8879]

Your getting closer to my home. Here in Roanoke Va there is still one of those signs up on a hill with "Blockbuster" painted over like this one. Nearby in Vinton there is a sign that still has the shape but has the name of the company using the building now on it.

[@JSVSouth]

There's still a few open in Australia, but most of them are closing. Netflix only became available to us last year, so I guess they lasted a bit longer here than in the US. I have good memories of going to Blockbuster to pick out movies with my friends when I was younger.

[@Abbeynormal555]

Going to a video rental store was always a fun little outing. Browse, find a few things, grab a snack. Also finding a bizarre and obscure movie was a lot easier.

[@xvinth9502]

This is right near my grandma's house. Used to go there all the time. Nostalgia at its peak!

[@kinghock]

Blockbuster was the first video store I remember going to as a kid. When they sold off their entire PS1 stock I got to pick a couple of games to take home. BE KIND, REWIND.

[@kathrynhalsey1449]

Dan, the valley area in South Texas still has several Blockbusters open. My husband and I have gone several times. I believe it's one of the very few areas nationwide that kept their Blockbusters open.

[@divinagraciadomingo5911]

RIP Blockbuster Video (1985-2014)

[@davinp]

In was browsing my 1996 high school year book and it shows a picture of students in a Blockbuster. yes, its been 20 years since I graduated high school. Memories of the 90s. Here in Woodbridge, VA we had 2 Blockbusters, one was torn down and another has been turned into a mattress store.

[@margaretfulton3325]

An old block buster place is now five guys in my area

[@fever_spike]

In looking up Blockbuster Video I was reminded that in our area we had Erol’s Video Club before we had Blockbuster.

[@gir12301]

Neat! There used to be a Blockbuster Facility type of building in the city next to mine, that being Mckinney, Texas. I'm pretty positive it's now used by UPS.

[@lilrano]

I worked at Blockbusters in the 90’s. I miss those days.

[@jess4metoo]

My Blockbuster closed in 2013, San Jose Ca Capital Av. I loved browsing the selection, could spend an hour in there. I miss it.

[@phoebexxlouise]

Where I live in Australia there's at least two or three Blockbusters still running around my city. There's one on Ipswich Road in Annerley, there's a Blockbuster that I failed to get hired at in Nundah Village and there's the Strathpine one that we used to frequent a lot before we got Netflix. I think because internet speeds are a lot worse here and Cable is very expensive, plenty of people are still pretty loyal to DVD rentals.

[@harrydaniells5359]

There was one in RI that was “for rent” but the owner took forever and turned down many applicants before anotber store rented the space. I always figured they were preserving ancient ruins.

[@hideofreakingkojima5457]

There is a bunch of Blockbuster Video stores in Alaska!

[@ohla300]

My fav. Blockbuster became either a H and R block or a Wings and things. been so long since I was around that shopping center

[@mikaelaburrell1655]

I remember my mom taking me to blockbuster as a child when she worked there in 2005 and seeing the blockbuster video sign in the sky this just took me back

[@sadieness]

Theres a Blockbuster still open in westmorland county here like 30 miles noth of pittsburgh pa

[@wilstarmbel]

Blast from the past! I used to work for the sister company of Blockbuster over in N.Ireland called Xtra-Vision. That was my first job and as a younger adult then I loved the job.

[@marbear5473]

Block Buster use to be such a treat when my kids were little!

[@ItsGonnaBeMay1]

I totally have still dvds from there that I never had to pay the late fees on....whoops lol

[@ItsGonnaBeMay1]

still have*

[@JPatrickGreene]

Haha!! There's a warrant out for you! You'll get pulled over for a ticket and they'll arrest you for overdue videos!!

[@ItsGonnaBeMay1]

+J. Patrick Greene They can try lol I have overdue library books too :-O I'm such a rebel.

[@thesaexplorer]

+hukelauidol81 you are the reason why they went out of business...

[@ItsGonnaBeMay1]

+J.R. Ewing yup. just me. no one else. video killed the radio star, and hukelauidol killed blockbuster video lol.

[@karenjadlowski4317]

Thanks For Posting,I Remember When Having A VHS Player Was A Big Thing. friends Came Over For MOVIE NIGHT! blockbuster Was Packed! Now It Seems Every One Has There Face In There Phone.Doing There Own Thing.

[@mickeydee3595]

I've got one about 15min drive from my house. Melbourne Australia though

[@GameDjeenie]

If video store would still be a thing, I would still rent my movies there... But now that Netflix took over, we don't have much choices but to watch movies there (or rent them on YT/Itunes)... Blockbuster dying was literally the end of an era that was dear to my heart. Yes, it was somewhat of a pain to move and go rent movie when you can now stay at home and have everything on demand, but there was something so cool when you chose a movie to watch with your family.

[@tommypoe3178]

Interestingly, that Blockbuster was actually outside of Lynchburg, VA. Madison Heights, to be exact. I used to go there all the time. It recently was finally remodeled and turned into a bouncy house for kids. It looks like they were beginning the remodel when you guys were there.

[@laurenj4288]

The quik drop!!! We used to race each other as to who could run the fastest, drop the movies and get back to the car.... 10 seconds baby 😂😂 🏃🏻

[@NikoAnesti]

I had one of these still hanging around in my town until just a couple weeks ago! It's finally become occupied by some fitness thing but rather than get rid of the large Blockbuster sign out front, they kept the shape of it and just put new signage over it. I don't think there's anything of interest there now though since it's no longer abandoned, unfortunately.

[@blithe6082]

Blockbuster nostalgic as'f, As of now there are 14 blockbusters left in the whole world

[@proudkiwi7641]

Going to blockbuster was an epic journey. I remember driving upto Blockbuster on a Friday night, seeing the place packed with people, you'd enter and it always had that same blockbuster smell. And right at the new rentals all the big movies had like two shelved full of their movies but of course they were all rented out especially on a Friday night. So we'd settle for the 10 for $10 one week rentals, my mum would allow my brother and I to choose two movies each, if she hated them she'd put them back and make us rechoose. I also remember going in with mates and we'd just look around for 30 minutes before leaving. Ah the good old days.

[@BloodDude2]

According to Wikipedia, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and was bought out by Dish Network in 2011. There are approximately 15 franchise locations remaining. At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster employed over 60,000 people in over 9,000 stores.

[@dillonhall7514]

We had one in Lincoln City, Oregon, and the best thing about Blockbuster is it's where I was born in. But the last one is in Bend, Oregon

[@pakasack]

There were two Blockbusters in the city I currently live in (Lake Charles, LA) but they've been both gone for years

[@hayleealbert6932]

There's one in Ashland, Kentucky its by an abandoned FoodLand. It's close to Route 60, which also has a dead mall on it

[@bluetech7753]

We definitely had a Blockbuster store down here in South Texas look it up Kingsville Texas Blockbuster Video the place is not abandoned it was later than turned into a pet store the outside of the store didn't change much it still looks like a blockbuster they just removed the blue awning and now there's a sign over the top that reads Petsense directly across the street was an old Hollywood Video Store which for a while was a rent to own Furniture store but now it has currently become vacant again.

[@porridgesilt]

The two Blockbuster buildings where I was from were turned into a weird revival church and a Jeans Wearhouse outlet.

[@missl6646]

The remember going to Blockbuster when I was a kid in the 90s.

[@ITSbigwillystyle]

It pains me to see dead blockbusters

[@404HandleNotFound]

The Blockbuster by me closed a couple of years ago. I remember that clearly because the winter that year was horrendously cold.

[@notthegoatseguy]

My city of Indianapolis still has several Family Video stores. These are primarily either in poor and working class parts of town or where a lot of families with young children are. The local franchiser for FV says they own the property where their stores are (rather than rent) and often act as landlords for adjacent businesses. He says they aim for businesses that make sense with video rentals, so it isn't uncommon to see a pizza or chicken wing joint to open next door to them. They don't publicize it, but unlike Blockbuster, they do carry pornography. Mostly softcore stuff and porn parodies, but it is still there.

[@JohnSmith-wj7ge]

There are still a couple of open ones in the USA! And they still have vintage videogames for rent. Chris Stuckman did a video tour of one of the last remaining franchises recently. Check it out.

[@NoKillMemphis]

according to wikipedia, there are still 19 Blockbuster stores open across the US. They are franchise stores. The corporate ones were dissolved years ago. I remember 25 plus years ago when they first opened. Rental for a new release VHS overnight was only 99 cents

[@meganshorrorstories2895]

A week later it closed down and we had no idea. We show up to return the video but realize it's gone for good haha. I still have the video years later. Never was able to return it. Go me! I always wanted to own that movie. Sad though. I think it was the last block buster to close in my city. And the building is still there abandoned and the building has been for sell for years but no one wants to buy it. It's sad. Driving past there and remembering what it once was

[@JanetStJohn-db4uz]

There is still a Blockbuster in Soldotna, Alaska. The one in the town I live in about 12 miles away-Kenai-closed last year.

[@larryinc64]

Apparently Game Rush was like a GameStop run by BlockBuster. I kinda miss my local store, they sold older games for cheep. I got Wind Waker for $5

[@JohnSurf5]

Always remember that blockbusters had a very unique smell when you went in. Something about the carpet maybe? It was the almost chemical smell but then there was the odor mixed with popcorn.

[@SeanAndersonMedia]

I like the 3D logo!