Earth Has Just One Blockbuster Left

Remember Blockbuster? The retail chain where you could rent movies and video games? It went bankrupt in 2013 and closed all of its U.S. stores and 72 other UK stores the following year. After gutting the business nearly five years ago, only one blue-and-yellow store is left standing on the entire planet Earth.

As CNN reports, the Bend, Oregon Blockbuster is the last one left after the only other store--located in Morley, Australia--announced it'll close its doors on March 31. According to a picture posted to the official Blockbuster Morley Facebook account, the last day of renting was March 7, with a huge sale happening on March 8. "We wish to thank all of our customers, past and present, for all your support and friendship," the post reads.

Oregan Blockbuster's General Manager, Sandi Harding, expressed her unflinching sadness at the news. "We all have a kinship with the other Blockbusters," Harding said. She is excited that her store's the only one remaining, though. There's got to be some level of prestige that comes with being the only Blockbuster left on the planet. As such, Harding's store is selling hats and shirts in celebration of being the last store.

Because of competition like streamlined rental services Gamefly and Redbox, as well as streaming platforms such as Hulu and Netflix, Blockbuster found itself in the sinkhole during the early 2010s, with the dreadful announcement that all U.S. stores would be closing coming in November 2013. The following year, nearly all Blockbuster's closed, with the remaining few in Alaska--famously referenced on John Oliver's Last Week Tonight--closing in 2018. (Blockbuster is also featured in the newly released Captain Marvel, which is set in the '90s. )

Open for more than 20 years, the Oregon Bend location does offer newer movie releases, but Harding says classics and older titles are its "bread and butter." She believes that, while the news is devastating, it might be good for business. "You can go to Redbox and you can get the new titles, but they don't have the older ones. Netflix and Amazon don't have everything, either.