Posted in: Movies, News | Tagged: Blockbuster Video, blockbuster video oregon, call of the wild, John Oliver, the last blockbuster, video rental, video store

The Last Blockbuster Video Is Thriving Right Now, Despite The Odds

Published Thu, 14 May 2020 20:45:03 -0500

by Jeremy Konrad

Comments

Blockbuster Video has been out of business for a while, but one last store remains. Bend, Oregon is where the last store in the world is, and despite all of the odds stacked against it right now, the store is thriving. Not only do they have to deal with streaming services and the convenience they offer, but the ongoing situation in the world right now has not helped either. Despite all of this, the last Blockbuster has seen its business increase during these troubling times. It was offering curbside service and soon reopening its doors while practicing safety protocols most open businesses are following, according to a new interview with the store's general manager Sandi Harding on Vice.

The Last Blockbuster in Oregon. Credit Kickstarter

With their distributor closed right now, Harding has had to go to a lot of trouble to keep the shelves stocked with big new releases. "The big title for next week is 'Call of the Wild," Harding says. "I usually start out with 30 copies on DVD, and 12 to 14 Blu-Ray. I'll go to Walmart, Target, Fred Meyer, every retailer we have here in town, and I'll only get five or 10 from each one. They don't like me very much if I come in and just wipe out their shelves, so I try to be conscientious of that, and make sure that I leave movies for their regular customers as well." Harding even points out that while renters at first followed streamers in wanting pandemic films, that has changed. "At first it was 'Outbreak,' 'Contagion,' and any pandemic movie out there, but now it's pretty much everything…They probably could've found the movie they're looking for [on a streaming service], but they don't have to: they can come here, and we've got it."

I have to say; this is pretty cool. John Oliver has done his part to raise awareness of the last Blockbuster, and a documentary about the store is debuting soon. As someone who worked at a video store for years and misses it dearly, it is pretty cool that there is still a store out there plugging away, no matter what is going on in the world.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!