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August 3, 2022

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it appears that Blockbuster may be making some type of move to return from its grave. Either that, or it's on an epic troll campaign targeted at Netflix's recent struggles with decreasing subscriber numbers. Either way, a new (old) fighter may be trying to enter the ring right now.

Is Blockbuster Rising from the Grave?

On June 12, 2014, Blockbuster made what many thought was its final tweet.

Then, mysteriously, on August 11, 2020, the company suddenly made two retweets and two original tweets.

After two years of silence, the company began tweeting again on July 22 with a tweet about NFTs and a tweet about being "back from the grave.

And then two more on July 23rd, this time using the #BackontheBlock hashtag. So, what gives?

Theory: Blockbuster is planning a comeback

This is the current theory that most people are working with. Although it closed all of its company-owned stores nearly a decade ago, it never completely closed down its website. And now, with a suddenly renewed amount of activity on Twitter, combined with the #BackontheBlock hashtag its using, there are serious signs that the company is trying to make a comeback of some kind.

And then there's its website

If the Twitter clues weren't enough, check out the Blockbuster website. Go on, click the link. We'll wait. If that's not a huge clue, I don't know what is. It's also ridiculously cryptic. Newman from Seinfeld? Wagging a finger? Wearing an Elvis costume? We're not quite sure what's going on what that one, but feel free to reply to our newsletter email if you have some ideas.

What does it all mean?

There are three possibilities here:

1. Blockbuster is trying to bring back the short-lived streaming service it attempted to run after Netflix started killing its business. If you forgot that the company tried to do that, you can't be faulted. And let's not forget, Netflix in its early days tried to get Blockbuster to buy its business, only to have the Blockbuster CEO at the time laugh them out of the room (more or less).

2. Blockbuster is trying to bring back physical stores in some capacity. This is less likely, as people aren't watching content on physical media anymore.

3. Netflix is producing a rom-com set in a Blockbuster store, so this could just be a weird promotion for it on social media.

It's unlikely that #2 is true. That leaves #1, or #3. If the first is true, what would that look like? How could Blockbuster develop a unique value proposition in such a densely packed market? If the third option is true, I might be pretty disappointed that that's all it was. Time will tell whether this is an epic troll or something more. But by the looks of it, that time will be soon.

This Week's Streaming Guide

Disney's Lightyear shifts to streaming TODAY

If you didn't watch it in theaters, Disney's 'Lightyear' moves to streaming today (Aug. 2).

Beavis and Butthead' return to TV this Wednesday

Let the potty humor and weird laughs commence. 'Beavis and Butthead' returns as a new series on Paramount+ this Wednesday (Aug. 3)

Hulu original film Prey is streaming this Friday

"A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, fighting against the wilderness, dangerous colonizers, and this mysterious creature to keep her people safe." - Watch on Hulu

A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie arrives Friday

The world's favorite turtles return in 'Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles: The Movie' this Friday (Aug. 5) on Netflix -

News and Industry Developments

Is Blockbuster selling NFTs or promoting a Netflix movie?

What in the world is even going on, Blockbuster? - CNN

The quest to find the actual best show on Netflix

We all have favorites, but what's the actual best show? - Forbes

R-Rated movies have Come to Disney+

This ain't a streamer just for kids anymore. - CNN

A Brief History of Shark Week

First of all, it's much older than you think (save that for your next pub trivia night). -MovieWeb