Beloved movie rental service with 34k locations closes after 22 years following bankruptcy – fans sigh ‘end of an era’
USERS of movie rental company Redbox were left saddened after it was announced that it would be shutting down operations.
The announcement comes after its parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
According to court documents obtained by the Washington Post, the Connecticut-based company claimed to be one billion dollars in debt.
As a result, Redbox, which was a staple of many grocery stores including Walgreens, and CVS will be shuttered.
Many fans took to social media to express how upset they were with the loss.
"I knew it was coming, sadly," UltraVada (@VantelWilliams) wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
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"It was inevitable," a second person mourned.
"I knew this would happen when I heard they filed for Bankruptcy but its still sad to hear. I have a lot of fun memories of Redbox," a third person lamented.
"I still don't think this will be or ever be the end of physical media as we do still get remasters of some movies in 4k/Bluray."
One person revealed that they had forgotten the rental service had existed.
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Other users were not surprised by the announcement.
"Not surprised since nobody really rents videos anymore with the rise of streaming and what not," one user admitted.
"Also kinda remember getting into a feud with them on here."
One user also pointed out that the last remaining Blockbuster, located in Bend, Oregon, managed to outlive Redbox.
Redbox was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment in 2022 and became one of the company’s flagship video-on-demand streaming services.
At its peak, CSSE operated more than 20,000 DVD rental kiosks across the country.
Redbox timeline
Below, find a complete timeline of Redbox's history
- 2002: Rebox is founded as a part of a McDonald's business expansion initiative.
- 2004: McDonalds tests the first DVD-only kiosks in Denver
- 2007: Redbox surpasses Blockbuster in the number of US locations
- July 2010, Redbox announced that they were beginning to rent Blu-ray movies at 13,000 kiosks nationwide.
- June 2011, Redbox launched video game rentals nationwide
- February 2012, Redbox purchases former competitor Blockbuster Express.
- 2017: Disney sues Redbox, accusing them of violating copyrights by selling codes to download Disney movies
- December 2017: Redbox offered a new video streaming service called Redbox On Demand
- December 2019: Redbox announces it would no longer be renting video games but will continue selling used video game copies
- May 11, 2022, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announced its intention to acquire Redbox.
- July 10, 2024: Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announces bankruptcy
The company's filing means that the company’s more than 1,000 employees will be laid off, per The Wall Street Journal.
It was also reported by Deadline that many employees at CSSE hadn't received their paychecks and had medical benefits cut in late June.
Redbox's surprise filing comes a few months after it was announced that users can access a dozen new movies through their Redbox Free Live TV.
This service, which was introduced in 2020 available on browsers, smart TVs, and some streaming devices, is designed to provide free live content for users.
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The free ad-supported streaming service (FAST) had been working on adding to its content library prior to the bankruptcy filing.
Redbox Free Live TV is available on Roku and Freestream.
