Mark Hamill once said no one was ever really gone, and the latest entity to be a part of this idea is Blockbuster Video.
A group calling itself BlockbusterDAO has made a splash on Twitter after announcing its formation and goal of purchasing the former retail empire brand’s intellectual property from the DISH Network Corporation. A pinned post on the group’s social media account from Christmas Day explains through a variety of buzzwords how the proposed rebirth would run on Blockchain as a mostly automated organization and the $5 million sought to spend for the acquisition would be raised by selling NFT’s to buyers at about 13 cents each.
“This project could not only change the face of the film industry, it could be the exemplary [decentralized autonomous organization] to lead the revolution in the years to come,” one of the first tweets from the nascent group reads. “We’re looking for incredible people to join this project, and the sky is truly just a checkpoint on the way to the moon.”
The organization presently has almost 10,000 followers as of this story being filed. Nostalgia has also been a powerful motivator in 2021 and recent years, but there are a couple of tall orders which would need to be fulfilled before their goals of winning an Oscar for a Blockbuster original film and a Golden Globe could ultimately be accomplished.
Mainly, as of press time, the brand owner has not expressed interest in selling what they acquired for more than $300 million in 2011. Physical stores for renting media were already withering away at this time, but since then DISH has made money through licensing the brand to stores like Target for clothing and Netflix is even developing a fictionalized show about the last Blockbuster with the intention of having Randall Park being the principal star.
In short, where is the incentive to sell when the original price was so high and money is coming in?
What do you think of the plan to resurrect Blockbuster Video? Had you rented from them before closure? Let us know in the comments.
