Ah Redbox, the quick fix kiosk that helps turn an ordinary trip to your local convenience store into an evening filled with cinematic monsters, mischief, and mayhem. Today, it’s been announced that the quick-and-easy rental machine has formed a partnership with 20th Century Fox that would allow Redbox to distribute and rent the studio’s titles a mere seven days after their retail sell-through release dates.
As you might recall, Redbox inked a similar deal with Warner Bros. back in May, when Outerwall, Redbox’s parent company, went private last fall after it was acquired by the private-equity firm Apollo Global Management. In the past, many studios were reluctant to allow Redbox to rent their films too soon after their initial retail release, but thanks to online piracy and streaming services across the net, a different plan of action has been called for.
In talking about the success of Redbox, Redbox CEO Galen Smith stated the following, “Our latest agreement with Fox continues to demonstrate a mutual commitment to providing consumers access to the freshest, best movies on the market at a great value.”
Furthermore, Redbox recently unveiled a national kiosk expansion to add 1,500 new rental kiosks in 2017, which will find them with a total of 41,500 units across the U.S., with more planned for distribution in 2018.
What are your thoughts on Redbox? Do you find yourself renting from them often, or do you prefer to acquire your entertainment digitally in this day and age? Personally, I tend to stay away from Redbox not only because I hardly ever find myself in a situation where I need to rent from one, but also because the disc quality is always a concern of mine. Honestly, you can never be certain of who rented a movie before you, and whether or not the kids or family dog decided to treat it like a snack or a Frisbee. It’s just too much of a gamble for me, though I completely understand how convinient something like Redbox can be for a parent who’s on the go and looking for a quick movie fix.
Nevertheless, Redbox is set to begin renting films presented by 20th Century Fox just seven days after their home-video release.