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Less than two years after self-help company Chicken Soup for the Soul bought Redbox, the corporation declared bankruptcy and now people are taking hundreds of movies out of the mostly abandoned DVD rental kiosks across the country. Some are even, with permission, taking the kiosks themselves.
If you’ve visited a CVS or a Walmart since 2013, you’ve likely seen a very large, very red Redbox movie rental kiosk either outside the store or inside the front area. The bright red boxes contained movies (and, for a time, video games) that people could rent, enjoy at home, and then drop off back at the kiosk. The company launched in 2002 and was very successful until streaming became bigger and bigger. Eventually Redbox found itself less relevant, and in May 2022, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (yes really) purchased Redbox and its kiosks for $375 million. Then earlier this year, Chicken Soup declared bankruptcy, leaving over 20,000 Redbox kiosks sitting around, just waiting to be raided by people.
Over on the Redbox subreddit, which used to be dedicated to documenting movies people rented and experiences using the kiosks, people are sharing photos of all the free movies they have emptied out of local kiosks.
After the bankruptcy, some people discovered that still-plugged-in Redbox kiosks were no longer connecting to the internet properly or charging credit cards. So you can sit there and take out a few movies per “transaction” until you run out of space in your bag, the kiosk freezes up, or the store kicks you out.
kotaku.com
If you’ve visited a CVS or a Walmart since 2013, you’ve likely seen a very large, very red Redbox movie rental kiosk either outside the store or inside the front area. The bright red boxes contained movies (and, for a time, video games) that people could rent, enjoy at home, and then drop off back at the kiosk. The company launched in 2002 and was very successful until streaming became bigger and bigger. Eventually Redbox found itself less relevant, and in May 2022, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (yes really) purchased Redbox and its kiosks for $375 million. Then earlier this year, Chicken Soup declared bankruptcy, leaving over 20,000 Redbox kiosks sitting around, just waiting to be raided by people.
Over on the Redbox subreddit, which used to be dedicated to documenting movies people rented and experiences using the kiosks, people are sharing photos of all the free movies they have emptied out of local kiosks.
After the bankruptcy, some people discovered that still-plugged-in Redbox kiosks were no longer connecting to the internet properly or charging credit cards. So you can sit there and take out a few movies per “transaction” until you run out of space in your bag, the kiosk freezes up, or the store kicks you out.
People Are Emptying Redbox Machines For Free Following Bankruptcy - Kotaku
Folks are also taking the machines and hacking them, according to some posts online
kotaku.com
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