It’s been six years since Blockbuster Video — the former movie-rental behemoth — closed all but one of its 9,000-plus stores and went completely dark on social media.
The company’s former leadership, which once scoffed at the notion of Netflix as a competitor, ended up in bankruptcy in 2010. And since then, that lone store in Bend, Ore., remains a relic of 90s nostalgia.
But on Tuesday, Blockbuster made a return to Twitter.
Tweeting for the first time since 2014, Blockbuster posted, “Just checking in.” This, of course, seemed like the beginning of some kind of coordinated #brand stunt because that’s exactly what it was.
Airbnb was teaming up with that one Blockbuster location to turn it into a 90s-themed living room — equipped with a VCR and box-style TV.
But, mainly, Blockbuster’s return to Twitter marked an opportunity for the internet to roast Blockbuster. The mentions were amazing. A lot of people might owe some late fees.
This is probably a good time to remind everyone that Blockbuster could have purchased Netflix for $50 million back in 2000. Netflix’s market cap today is $209.5 billion.
