Redbox Is Closing Its Doors After 22 Years In Business — Here’s Why

It’s the end of the era for movie lovers to watch movies at home.

According to reports from NBC News, Delivery time And Wall Street JournalChicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the parent company of Redbox, converted its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case into Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings on Wednesday, June 10. That means Redbox, the 22-year-old DVD rental and streaming service, will officially close.

Wall Street Journal The company’s bankruptcy filing is reported to be closing Redbox’s network of 24,000 DVD rental kiosks at retailers nationwide, leaving about 1,000 employees without jobs. It’s not known when the kiosks will close.

US Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Horan granted the company’s request because it “has no means to continue paying employees, or paying any bills,” reports said. The Wall Street Journal.

“Based on the allegations we’ve heard, it’s important to appoint a Chapter 7 trustee and conduct a proper investigation of the company,” Horan said, according to Reuters, adding that “1,000 people are about to lose their jobs, and they won’t even get paid for the work they did.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment for comment.

According to Deadline, this announcement comes weeks after Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for bankruptcy protection on June 29 with debts of about $1 billion.

It also comes nearly two years after Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Completed its acquisition of Redbox in August 2022..

At the time, William J. Rouhana Jr., chairman and CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, said the purchase would give his company “immediate scale.”

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“These collective assets create an integrated streaming business for a new era of digital entertainment that we expect will accelerate our company’s growth and profitability well ahead of our original plans,” Rouhana said in 2022. “The team at Redbox is incredible and will join an equally talented team across our Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment businesses.”