Did Blockbuster Go Out Of Business In The US? If you’re a hard fan of the nostalgic rental chain, it may be pernicious news for you…
Yes! Blockbuster went out of business. It was extremely popular because it was the most famous video rental store where people could rent their favorite videos, shows, and movies to better enjoy with family at home.
Since its launch more than two decades ago, it has been doing great business. But later, Blockbuster went out of business, and only one store remains open in Bend, Oregon, nationwide.
People think that the reason behind Blockbuster’s demise is Netflix, but it is false.
Several other factors impacted Blockbuster. The rise of Netflix may be one of the major reasons for its demise, but it is not the only cause.
So what exactly has happened? If you want to know what happened and why only one store is left today, this blog is for you!
We know your mind is filled with many questions, including What year did Blockbuster go out of business? What is the reason behind it? Is it still in business or not? And you’re also wondering if we could have Blockbuster nights again. If yes! Then we would like to tell you that you must go through this blog post!!
In this enthralling blog post, we have covered all these questions… We hope you’ll get your answers in this captivating blog!!
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about blockbuster
Blockbuster Video, now known as Blockbuster LLC, is owned by Dish Network. It is an American-based brand formerly operated by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., founded in 1985 by David Cook.
Blockbuster started with one shop as a home video rental shop in Dallas. Later, the business expanded into video game rentals, video on demand, streaming, cinema theatre, and DVD-by-mail.
Throughout the 1990s, Blockbuster grew its business internationally, and its international operations include, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, and the United Kingdom.
In 2004, it operated around 9,100 stores in which 84,300 people were employed, of which more than half of the employees were in the United States and around 25,000 were in other countries.
In 2010, it filed for bankruptcy protection. Later, Dish Network (a satellite Television Provider) acquired hundreds of Blockbuster stores. In 2014, its company-owned stores and the brand’s corporate support were shut down.
When Dish Network owned some of the franchised blockbuster stores, it enabled some privately owned blockbuster franchised stores to be there.
The closing series of the Blockbuster stores was going on. In 2019, only one franchised store in Bend, Oregon, was still open in the United States.
What Year Blockbuster Went Out Of Business In The US?
Blockbuster, a rental company, filed for bankruptcy in 2010 when Netflix caught everyone’s attention towards it and grew continuously.
At the same time, Blockbuster was in a heavy debt of 1 billion US dollars, due to which it was removed from the NYSE.
And in early 2014, Blockbuster went out of business by shutting down all of its company-owned stores.
It is believed that it only left one store in Bend, Oregon, the last remaining store in the United States in 2018. Later, it became the only blockbuster store around the world in 2019.
What Made Blockbuster Go Out Of Business?
Blockbuster Did Not Settle The Deal With Netflix
Blockbuster was one of the largest video rental companies in the world, and Netflix was a young upstart at that time.
In 2000, a deal was done between Blockbuster and Netflix; Netflix sold its company for 50 million US dollars which was raised after some time. But Blockbuster claimed the price was too high.
And Netflix’s CFO stated, “Blockbuster was laughing at us outside of the office.” Later, Blockbuster did not stick to its words and canceled the deal of the century.
When Blockbuster denied Netflix’s offer, it had one or more than one million subscribers. After several years, the subscribers skyrocketed to six million. Now it has built up its empire.
Customers Started To Prefer Netflix Over Blockbuster
Blockbuster could not pivot quickly, and customers did not enjoy the service of Blockbuster, which they used to.
Because Netflix offered better service than Blockbuster, customers found it more convenient. Because of Netflix, customers did not need to go out and get the movie, video game, or video on rent.
They could go online and make the most of every movie or game they wanted. By 2006, Netflix reached a peak and gained six million subscribers.
However, in 1990, Amazon also entered the E-commerce market but could not beat Netflix.
Poor Strategy
You could buy any movie or game on rent from Blockbuster, but if you did not return them, you had to pay extra charges that were counted daily. It means the poor strategy of the company was also the reason behind its closure.
On the contrary, no extra charges are demanded by Netflix. No improvements were seen even though the company cut down late fees.
Unable to compete with its opponents
Customers shifted their focus to Netflix, and the demand for DVDs and other offerings of Blockbuster reduced; the big box stores, including Target, Best Buy, and Walmart, all priced Blockbuster’s things cheaply. It led to a massive loss to Blockbuster at that time.
Filed For Bankruptcy
In 2010, the company filed for bankruptcy. At that time of bankruptcy, it was in heavy debt of around 1 billion US dollars. All in all, the company was struggling financially.
Altogether, Blockbuster was forced to make the move of shutting down its business after failures.
Is Blockbuster Still In Business 2023?
If we talk about Blockbuster stores, it is still in business.
As the company size declined but is still around. One blockbuster store is still there, located in Bend, Oregon, in the United States. That Bend, Oregon, located Blockbuster only rental store is where one of the comedy series Netflix was filmed a year ago.
In 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy when it went out of business due to several major factors. At that time, other platforms, such as Netflix and Hulu, rose.
But the nostalgic fans of Blockbuster persevered with the brand’s popularity and increased value for things since its launch.
The remaining rental stores were deteriorating, and almost every store shut down its doors nationwide. But one store remained open; it was in Bend, Oregon, in the US.
Will Blockbuster Come Back In The US?
You’ll be happy that Blockbuster reactivated its website in March 2023; now, you can watch videos.
It is again working and showing the video chains symbol and a catchphrase, “We are planning to bring back the entire setup; to do so, we’re trying to reverse your movie.”
Have you tried it yet? If yes! Then we are sure; you’ve seen a cryptic phrase while opening it on your mobile device, i.e., “Be humble; we are backing up data.”
It is all we have so far regarding Blockbuster reopening. No more information is available on the company’s official website, and no details are there.
When reopening became a concern for most people, Blockbuster tweeted, “This year, 2023, may bring back Blockbuster. We have a New Year’s resolution that we may reopen it. But, it is not a good time to say anything as we’ve to work a lot. So we prefer to quit this time. We think we should start with the gym rather?”
Did Blockbuster Go Out Of Business – Wrapping Up
Yes! Due to filing for bankruptcy protection in 2010, Blockbuster declined or quit the business.
Not only bankruptcy, but other factors were also responsible for its decline, such as poor management, the great recession, and increasing competition.
It was believed that during the late 2000s, the increasing competition from Redbox automated kiosks, Netflix’s mail order service, video on demand, and a massive loss in revenue.
