Movie Gallery, Inc., a company that has provided movie and game rentals to North Americans for over 20 years, filed petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 2, according to its official Web site.
Under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company will be able to restructure its debt and continue operations, but the restructuring will include the immediate closure of 760 Movie Gallery, Hollywood Video and Game Crazy stores. The Movie Gallery of Geneseo, located at 4360 Pondside Plaza, is one of those slated to shut down.
Traditional movie rental outlets have faced insurmountable competition in the past decade from illegal movie downloading sites, as well as alternative movie rental services like Netflix and redbox.
Senior Leanne Richardson said she usually watches movies that she or her friends own, but occasionally gets movies from redbox. "There's no business for [Movie Gallery]. It's been replaced by Netflix and redbox and all the other ways you can get movies." She said that although traditional stores may have a large selection, their downfall is "not really affecting" her.
Sophomore Tyler Gilmore said he watches movies that he downloads from the Internet using BitTorrent. He said that because most Geneseo students get movies from each other or online and because the Movie Gallery was not within walking distance, "it [was] not an active part of where [students] live."
Last fall, the College Union brought in start-up company UniversiDVD to put its own movie rental kiosk in the mailroom. The kiosk was removed after one semester.