Long before streaming services made movies available with the click of a button, a Friday night ritual played out in neighborhoods across America: a trip to the local video store.
It wasn’t just about watching a movie; it was about the experience. Wandering through aisles lined with colorful VHS (and later DVD) covers, debating which film to take home, and chatting with staff or fellow customers became a cultural touchstone for millions.
At the heart of this era was the video rental store, a place where cinematic discoveries were made, and a shared love for movies brought people together.
Tower Video store, New York City, 1986.
The birth of the video rental industry in the United States can be traced back to December 1977, when George Atkinson opened the first professionally managed rental store, Video Station, at 12011 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Atkinson’s move came after 20th Century Fox struck a deal with Magnetic Video founder Andre Blay, licensing 50 of their titles for direct consumer sale.
Seizing the opportunity, Atkinson purchased these films in both VHS and Betamax formats and offered them for rent, paving the way for a new entertainment model.
Such stores led to the creation of video rental chains such as West Coast Video, Blockbuster Video, and Rogers Video in the 1980s.
Renting movies at “MovieQuik,” a short-lived video rental venture of 7-Eleven, circa 1985.
By the mid-1980s, video rental stores were everywhere. In 1985, the United States had approximately 15,000 specialty video stores, and that number continued to climb.
Beyond these dedicated shops, video rentals could also be found in record stores, grocery stores, and even local drugstores.
Video rental ads at ShopRight, 1991.
By 1988, the number of specialty video stores had surged to 25,000, while an additional 45,000 outlets, including supermarkets, offered video rentals as a way to draw in customers.
Some grocery stores charged as little as $0.49 per rental to entice shoppers, making movie nights affordable for almost everyone.
Blockbuster video store in Lexington, 1999.
For many households, renting a movie became a weekend tradition. Families and friends would gather around their VCRs, choosing from the latest Hollywood blockbusters or beloved classics.
Video rental stores catered to all ages, and the industry quickly became a significant part of the American economy. By 1987, Pennsylvania alone had 537 video stores, with residents spending an average of $10.50 per year on rentals.
The business was so popular that many stores not only rented out tapes but also offered VHS players for those who didn’t own one.
VideoConcepts was eventually sold to Radio Shack, before they all went under.
The shelves of these stores reflected the diverse tastes of their communities. While the main aisles were filled with family films, comedies, and action hits, many shops also included adults-only sections tucked away in the back.
These hidden areas were often separated by a curtain or a door, maintaining a sense of privacy while catering to a different audience.
A video store in 1988.
As technology advanced, so did the video rental business. In the late 1990s, DVDs began replacing VHS tapes on store shelves.
Their compact size allowed stores to carry larger inventories, offering customers more choices than ever before.
The lightweight discs also opened the door for mail-order rental services. Netflix, which initially operated on a per-rental model, introduced a monthly subscription plan in 1999.
Quentin Tarantino working at a video rental store in California during the 1980s.
By the mid-2000s, the rise of the internet and on-demand streaming services began to threaten the traditional video store model.
With films becoming instantly accessible from home, the need to drive to a rental shop dwindled. The effect was swift and severe.
In 2000, there were 27,882 video rental stores operating in the United States. By 2015, that number had plummeted to just 4,445.
Between 2007 and 2017, over 86% of the 15,300 video stores open in 2007 had shut their doors, leaving only around 2,140 still in business.
Hollywood video store in 1999 with Sega Dreamcast console.
According to Daniel Herbert, a film professor at the University of Michigan, video rental stores “helped cement a local ‘movie culture’ and contribute to the social fabric of a community in small but meaningful ways“, in that customers sought advice from staff on what film to rent or chatted with other customers about “what to watch and why.”
A selection of Atari video games at a Gold Circle discount department store, 1983.
Film critic Collin Souter states that video stores gave “film lovers” a place “to congregate” and make “discoveries by browsing” the racks of film shelves, with the store providing a “film school, a social gathering, a place of cinematic discovery, date nights, and rites of passage.”
He underscores the impact that video stores had by noting that when film director Quentin Tarantino, a former video rental store employee, learned that Video Archives in Hermosa Beach California (the store he had worked at) was closing, he bought the entire “inventory and recreated the store in his basement”, as for him, “that place [was] a lifesaver.”
Ad for an early 1980s store.
Video store in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1988.
A Chicago Blockbuster in 1991.
“My Aunt running her own video store in the late 1980s.” Source: Reddit.
Wegmans “Video Rental Store” in the 90’s. This was a store within a store at Wegmans supermarkets.
A video rental store in Spain, mid to late 1980s.
The golden age of video stores may be over, but the memories of browsing the shelves, discovering hidden gems, and sharing movie nights with loved ones remain vivid for those who experienced it.
(Photo credit: RHP / Wikimedia Commons / Britannica / Screenshotted and adjusted by RHP).