Updates to the Blockbuster Video website have fueled speculation among the movie-rental chain s fans about a possible comeback.
According to the Internet Archive, the website was initially updated in late July 2022 to include the Blockbuster logo and a message that said, We are working on rewinding your movie. It also included a pop-up GIF of actor Wayne Knight. An update to the page in August featured a GIF of John Travolta from Pulp Fiction superimposed over an aisle of movie rentals at a Blockbuster. Contact information on Blockbuster licensing inquiries was also on the page.
Blockbuster Video, founded in 1985 and had more than 9,000 locations in the U.S. at its peak in 2004, offers movie and video game rentals at its brick and mortar locations around the country. The company struggled due to the rise in video-on demand and competition from Netflix and Redbox. Dish retained some franchise agreements that allowed the few remaining privately owned Blockbusters to operate under the brand name. After a series of closures in 2019, only one franchise store remains open today, located in Bend, Oregon.
As Blockbuster fans realized that the chain's website had been updated, some took to social media to express their excitement about a potential comeback by the brand.
Is there a possibility of WORLD Blockbuster going back in business? One of my favorite childhood memories was going to Blockbuster on Friday night. It is not clear what changes are going to be made for Blockbuster and whether the brand will be revived in some way beyond the lone remaining store in central Oregon.
The manager of the Blockbuster location in Bend, Oregon, said she was unsure what the website update meant but expressed excitement about seeing what Dish Network might be up to.