Blockbuster

[starmanof51]

Why not for Criterions

Because there's not that many, and they don't need to stock more than a few a month?

or SD titles that are now OOP and might be impossible to replace if stolen/damaged?

Because they didn't have to pay OOP prices to stock them in the first place?

[Matt]

As I type this, shares of Blockbuster are selling for 22¢ each (up from 13¢ earlier), on news that they have hired a firm to investigate restructuring options, possibly even bankruptcy. Netflix is sitting pretty at $36.30, up more than $2 today.

[domino harvey]

Hard to believe that Blockbuster's exclusive rights to A Christmas Tale didn't turn the company around

[swo17]

I bet this all turns out to be less than true, just like that time they "got rid of" late fees.

[domino harvey]

Oh no, I had better return my copy of A Christmas Tale then

[swo17]

Ah, the memories.

[Binker]

Ah, the memories.

Dear god, I can't stop reading. (and laughing)

About a week later, my wife and I found ourselves purusing the shelves at BB and walked to the counter for our $14 evening (3 rentals). The gentleman behind the counter told me I owed $42 in late fees. I was shocked, embarassed, and confused.

[kaujot]

I always knew that Blockbuster was rotten, but I never thought they were that rotten.

[dx23]

I was just at Blockbuster looking at their used rack and they now have used BDs for $19.99. It's incredible that their mismanagement is what caused the studios to revisit their approach of how the sell their product to the consumer.

[domino harvey]

Blockbuster died for our sins

[dx23]

Blockbuster Denies Bankruptcy. I heard the same thing from Circuit City not so long ago.

[Oedipax]

If you've got a Blockbuster store in your area, the pre-viewed section is worth a look. Last week my local store had a 4 for $20 deal on pre-viewed copies of movies like There Will Be Blood, Snow Angels, The Savages, Shine a Light, Be Kind Rewind, and some others I'm forgetting. And they had a 2 for $20 on more recent titles including Burn After Reading. Then there was also a giant bin of sub-$5 titles where I found things like The Pillow Book, Time of the Wolf, The Grifters, Sketches of Frank Gehry, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Redbelt, We Don't Live Here Anymore, and The Darjeeling Limited. I got about 20 titles for ~$80 when all was said and done. I'd go back and check it out again but I think I've cleared them out of most of their oddball single-copy ex-rentals, now it's just a zillion copies of The Eye and Meet the Spartans.

[dx23]

Warning regarding some of their used DVDs: Some of the FOX releases are barebones rental disc, not the retail release that comes with the extras. Even though it may have a case where in the back says that there are extras included, these new FOX dvds don't have them. It's the new moronic thing that FOX is doing to increase the retail experience.

[Antoine Doinel]

The execs at Blockbuster are running out of ideas.

[Perkins Cobb]

This is the most entertaining deathwatch since Jesse Helms.

[FerdinandGriffon]

Then there was also a giant bin of sub-$5 titles where I found things like ...

These $4 bins are a goldmine. All the best stuff (the stuff your average Blockbuster patron has no interest in) lurks in there. A couple weeks ago I picked up The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., The Twilight Samurai, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Fulltime Killer, My Blueberry Nights, Mongol, The President's Analyst and 8 1/2 Women from there, all for $4-5.

[Matt]

The execs at Blockbuster are running out of ideas.

Blockbuster to sell swag: Movie-related merchandise bound for store shelves

Hey, it worked for Suncoast!

[dx23]

Closing between 810 and 960 locations. That's what happens when you hire an inept person as your CEO and then go and support studios that are trying to put a larger window between sales and rentals.

[lacritfan]

Might be worth a look if you're near a closing location - Tokyo Olympiad - $11 out the door.

[rwaits]

Was that copy of Tokyo Olympiad sealed or an ex rental?

[lacritfan]

Was that copy of Tokyo Olympiad sealed or an ex rental?

Ex-rental. But you're talking about Blockbuster customers so looks like it might have been viewed once or twice.

[Oedipax]

Went by a closing store just now and didn't see a single Criterion title, but I got some decent deals. Notably a lot of the IFC/Blockbuster exclusive titles were on sale for $9.99: Gomorrah, A Christmas Tale, etc. Got Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia for $3.99 and the SE's of The Fog and Christine for $2.99 and $9.99, respectively. Also finally bought No End in Sight, which I've been meaning to do for a long time and just never saw it for less than $20'ish new. They had ex-rental copies of The Wind Will Carry Us and The Duchess of Langeais, too, but I already own both in superior editions.

The Blu-Ray selection was really just about 20 titles, most of which were priced at $16 or so. Nothing that really caught my eye there, unfortunately.

[Perkins Cobb]

I can't believe I'm the first to commend another hero for our times.

[mfunk9786]

I thought this was pretty funny, it's the #2 FAQ question on the list on Blockbuster Online:

Why is "Badder Santa" added to my Queue when I add "Bad Santa"?
Bad Santa and Badder Santa are the same film. Badder Santa is simply the Unrated version, and Bad Santa is the R rated version. The version added to queue is what we have to offer through our online inventory at the time. Badder Santa is not a sequel to Bad Santa.

[dx23]

Bankruptcy Is Blockbuster's Only Hope. After the idiot bosses change their rental policies again, going back to 1999 rules of renting DVDs that cost $4 for $5 and charging fees two weeks ago, I'm not surprised about this at all. I was even wondering if the Blockbuster executive board get some type of bonus for tanking their company and sending them to the toilet in record time.