Blockbuster may be teetering on the brink of extinction, but the video rental service may soon be back.
There is only one Blockbuster location left in the world in Bend, Oregon. It’s a sad turn of events after the company, which opened in 1985, had at its highest point more than 9,000 locations worldwide. In 2010, the company filed for bankruptcy and seemed to have sealed its fate.
But after being shut down, the online version of Blockbuster may be coming back to life.
The Washington Post reported that Blockbuster.com is active once again with the message: “We are working on rewinding your movie.”
The cyber switch was actually flipped on months ago, according to a search on the Wayback Machine web archive.
It appears that a similar message, but with a nod to “Jurassic Park” was posted in August 2022. Then a screen showing John Travolta from “Pulp Fiction” replaced Wayne Knight.
Before that, the site suggested visiting Dish Network, the company which purchased Blockbuster in 2011, for new releases.
Blockbuster’s Twitter account was also resurrected, The Hill reported.
The last tweet posted by the company was in August 2020. Then, in July 2022, it came back with an occasional snarky post or interaction from entertainers.
The Washington Post, Market Watch and Nexstar, owner of The Hill, have reached out to Dish Network to find out if Blockbuster is coming back, but none have received a response.
The Cox Media Group National Content Desk has also reached out and is awaiting a comment.
Still, fans of video stores are hoping the company reopens locations soon.
And others were pondering if the company is planning to launch a streaming service, something that the company had decided against, which led to its demise, when it turned down the chance to purchase Netflix for a reported $50 million in 2000, The Washington Post reported.
Still, despite a plethora of streaming services, Blu-ray discs continue to sell, just not in the amounts prior to the rise of streaming.
MarketWatch reported that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” sold almost 1.3 million copies in 2022 while Dune sold about 681,000 and “Jurassic World: Dominion” sold about 619,000 last year.