Why Blockbuster Fans Think Company Is Planning a Comeback

Blockbuster might be coming back, and we're not talking about that Netflix sitcom we all forgot about already. The company's website is suddenly live again, which has led fans of the video rental chain to speculate about its return. The last corporate-owned Blockbuster stores closed in 2014. All that remains of the brand is a single franchised store in Bend, Oregon, and our collective memories of searching through aisles of titles to rent.

Blockbuster.com went active earlier this month. The webpage simply has the Blockbuster logo and the phrase, "Be kind while we rewind." There is no other information to go on, and Dish Network has yet to make an announcement. The verified Blockbuster Twitter account has only responded to tweets about the website with GIFs.

"Is [Blockbuster] coming back? I hope so, but it could just be some kind of streaming service. I would rather see the return of brick-and-mortar stores," one person wrote. "Whaaaaat is happening?! ls this the return of [Blockbuster]?! Oh, how we've missed you," another person wrote.

Blockbuster LLC is now owned by satellite provider Dish Network. The company bought Blockbuster in 2011 for $320 million after the company filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2014, Dish closed the last 300 corporate-owned stores. Dish also ended Blockbuster's DVD-by-mail service, which was a last-ditch effort to compete with Netflix. Blockbuster also had a streaming service called "Blockbuster @Home," which Dish continued to maintain until at least 2015. In December 2021, a crypto group talked about buying the brand to revive it as another streaming service, but Dish refused to sell it.

Although Dish allowed franchise owners to continue operating their Blockbuster stores, many of those shuttered as well. The last remaining franchised store is in Bend, Oregon. The store's general manager, Sandi Harding, and her team successfully turned the store into a tourist destination. They were featured in the 2020 documentary The Last Blockbuster, and sell merchandise on their website, BendBlockbuster.com.

Dish also licensed out the Blockbuster name for nostalgic merchandise and let Netflix produce a series based on a fictional "last" Blockbuster. The series starred Randall Park as the manager of a store in Michigan, with Melissa Fumero, Olga Merediz, Tyler Alvarez, and Madeline Arthur. The series was created by Vanessa Ramos and earned mostly negative reviews. It was canceled after one season, leading many to make the same joke about Netflix killing Blockbuster again.