Does anyone in Rockford miss renting movies at Redbox?

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — It took a few months, but Redbox kiosks are now gone from the Rockford area.

But, do local residents care? Some do.

Redbox which peaked in the 2010s, had dozens of rental hubs in the stateline. However, as streaming took hold, DVD and Blu-ray rentals dropped off across the country.

And while Redbox attempted to enter the streaming space, it didn’t succeed. The company ceased operations in July 2024.

However, even after the company stopped renting movies and games, a number of kiosks remained in Rockford to liquidate everything in them. As of this report, there are no Redboxes left in the area, leaving locals with mixed feelings.

“It was easy access, and you could rent for like five days,” said Ambrianna Evans, a former Redbox user who liked the affordability. “Instead of going to the movie theater, you can get it on Redbox faster than going to the movie theater and spending like $60 or $80.”

Annemarie Long, of Rockford, said she’s nostalgic about the Redbox experience. She enjoyed going to a kiosk and grabbing a piece of physical media to take home.

“We used to watch kids movies, comedies, horror movies, a lot of different things,” Long said.

Not everyone is mourning the loss though. Ieva Surantas, who remembers using Redbox once about 10 years ago, grew up streaming movies and couldn’t see herself ever renting a DVD or Blu-ray. She prefers Netflix.

“I was probably one of the first [Netflix] users,” Surantas said.

At its peak, Redbox had more than 30,000 rental kiosks across the country and controlled more than half the U.S. DVD rental market. The company reported a $636.6 million loss in 2023. In 2024, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which was later covered to a Chapter 7.