Audio Video News

The era of movie-disc vending machines has officially come to an end.

On Tuesday, Redbox owner Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment converted its voluntary bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11 — which offered a slim chance for survival under a court-supervised debt reorganization plan — to Chapter 7, which is the end of the line.

The company that flourished during heyday of DVD alongside Blockbuster and the once ubiquitous Netflix mail-order business, will lay off its remaining 1,000 employees and liquidate its business interests, according to the Wall Street Journal and other news reports. Redbox streaming operations will cease and the estimated 24,000 disc-rental kiosks still in service around the country will be shut down.

The judge overseeing the proceedings termed Redbox as “hopelessly insolvent,” leaving no hope for revival. The company website redbox.com, which was active when we reported on the initial bankruptcy filing last week, is no longer fully functioning.

When was the last time you grabbed a disc from a Redbox kiosk? Leave a comment.

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Red’s Last Mail Drop (4/19/23)

The Last Blockbuster (7/16/18)