A Staple Item In Michigan Stores Will Soon Be Removed

Whenever you walk up to a Walgreens or inside a Meijer, you are always greeted by a big red box positioned by the door that makes it easy for you to walk out with a rental movie or video game. That's what visitors have expected since the early 2000s. I for one fondly remember renting Titanfall 2 and playing the entire game all night to return it on time.

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Sadly, physical media rental has fallen victim to streaming once again, as Redbox, the kiosk movie rental service, has announced it will shut down after 22 years.

RedBox Shutting Down

Blockbuster and Video Family were the original victims of the streaming effect, and now RedBox has joined them. The last major physical video rental service has filed for bankruptcy, shuttering 24,000 kiosks and laying off over 1,000 workers. RedBox, during its height, had outpaced Blockbuster in total locations and was earning over $1.97 billion a year in revenue.

Remember how annoying late fees were? Well, RedBox's parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) is facing some late fees of its own after employees have reported not being paid in the last month, and won't be paid for all hours of work this month. The company has filed for a Chapter 7 case and plans to liquidate aka sell off all assets.

Streaming has been king ever since Netflix started the subscription service boom. Ask yourself, when was the last time you used a DVD player? Mine has done nothing but collect dust for as long as I can remember.

Movie rentals are now a thing of the past, and if you're curious about what happened to the old Family Video buildings, you can see what each one in Michigan has turned into below.