Redbox Is Closing All of Its Rental Kiosks
Redbox’s parent company has filed for liquidation.
Redbox will be closing all of its DVD rental kiosks. The news arrives after the parent company of Redbox, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, moves to liquidate all of its assets.
The company had originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but turned that into a Chapter 7 liquidation case. Upwards of 1,000 employees working at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment have been laid off without severance pay.
Redbox’s business had already been declining for years as streaming has become the default to watch movies. The rental service reportedly peaked in 2013 with a revenue of $1.97 billion USD, per Variety. At the time, Redbox had over 40,000 kiosks throughout the US and Canada.
In its filing, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment listed debts totaling $970 million USD, owing money to Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, Walgreens, Walmart and more.
The company is also being investigated after one of its lenders HPS Investment Partners alleged self-dealing and mismanagement by one of its controlling shareholders. Along with mismanagement of the business, HPS accused shareholder William J. Rouhana Jr. of failing to pay workers’ salaries and health benefits.
