The movement to save physical media
A Free Blockbuster is a place where people can leave movies so others can borrow them. Like those Little Free Libraries where you can take or leave a book, but for VHS tapes and DVDs (and anything else you want to share with your neighbors). With Box stores ending support on physical media, you’ll begin to see more of these boxes appear in neighborhoods.
In 2018, a California resident who once worked at Blockbuster envisioned a creative revival for discarded LA Times newspaper dispensers. He wanted to combine his love for physical media in a recycled-repurposed way. Roughly 3 months later, the first Blockbuster box was released to the public. It is important to note that this entire project of creating a free media box is not affiliated with the actual brand Blockbuster.
After many word-of-mouth conversations and local news segments, the mission to combat media scarcity began to grow larger. Free Blockbuster’s main motto is to take a movie and leave a movie. Implying that these boxes should NOT be raided for profit.
I think for newbies who want to begin reselling, it’s tempting to see these boxes as a profit opportunity. Simple research of exploring the pricing of physical media will quickly show you why thrift stores sell media for so cheap. While there may be the occasional DVD worth over $30 inside a free box, understand that these are designed to help those who don’t have easy access to entertainment. The honor system implies that community members would watch and return movies, while also donating their own for others to enjoy.
I originally found this project interesting and made a TikTok video explaining the concept back in 2022. I didn’t think much until in recent months that I would like to find one of these boxes myself. To my surprise, the website: freeblockbuster.org documents every location that had to send a submission to be accepted onto the website’s map.
The official "Blockbuster Express" machines
A general confusion with Free Blockbuster boxes is to lump them with the 2011 Blockbuster Express boxes. Blockbuster Express was a movie-rental kiosk brand sublicensed for use by licensee NCR Corporation. In 2011, nearly 10,000 Blockbuster Express kiosks were in operation. Apart from the license to use the Blockbuster brand name, Blockbuster Express kiosks are unrelated to Blockbuster LLC, its stores, its DVD-by-mail service, or its online streaming service.
Exploring actual free Blockbuster locations
After seeing Oregon had 9 locations, my objective was simple. I wanted to see if each location had an up and running box, and I wanted to make sure these weren’t raided or emptied. To also make it fun and interesting, I brought some VHS tapes to donate.
The above locations numbered 1-9 was the order in which we explored the portable Blockbusters. I was happy to find out of the 7 locations that did have boxes, 6 had a good variety of movies to enjoy. No boxes were completely raided, however box 7 didn’t have a decent selection. One of the boxes that wasn’t present when we arrived happened to be a ways out of the way. I think a good solution for the Free Blockbuster website would be to include a rating system. One that allows users to vote if a box is still present, or missing.
Printable Blockbuster Sleeves
User @danmilano on Tiktok made a useful printable sleeve for his separate DVD’s found in bluray combo packs. It uses a combination of VHS and DVD covers from official blockbuster cases. The best part is it is open source, and you can find the link on his social media page.
Free Blockbuster is more than just a nostalgia trip, it is a message to corporations that we want our physical media preserved and maintained. With the rising prices of streaming services, these boxes will continue to pop up and be wildly popular with communities.