Hollywood Video - The Rise And Fall 

Hollywood video was such a huge part of my childhood because it was close to my house. Blockbuster video was one town over and I would only go there if Hollywood didn't have what I was looking for. Kind of felt like the weird cousin that I only had to visit if I absolutely had to. Hollywood had the neon lights and felt more modern. I miss those days.

I miss the 90s early 2000s.. life was easier

My first job was at Hollywood Video, the internet literally killed the majority of retails. The anticipation of a new movie coming to video was just different back then as to now. The feeling of actually picking up the box and reading it seems like a lost art nowadays. The future truly sucks!

I love both Hollywood Video and Blockbuster Video.

I was a manager at both Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. I loved working at those jobs, they were my favorite years at a job!

Was so ticked off at my local Hollywood Video as they transitioned from VHS to DVD. They literally just threw all their VHS in a dumpster. An employee told me that and I was like “Do you realize how rare some of those tapes were that you had?” So flipping stupid. I would have gladly bought most of the horror/exploitation flicks that they had.

My dad would always take me here every saturday afternoon, rent me two games, and get McDonald's.

We had both a Blockbuster and a Hollywood in my town. My family always went to Hollywood Video. Special times.

Movie rental stores would've always been pushed out by digital rentals, but it amazes me how almost all of them could've easily made it a few more years had they just made smarter business decisions.

Hollywood Video was a HUGE part of my childhood. I liked Blockbuster as well, but Hollywood Video had a much better selection, and each weekend my dad and I would rent movies from there and get pizza from the nearby Pizza Hut. ❤❤👍👍

Where I grew up, there were no Hollywood Video or Blockbuster stores. The Mom and Pop stores were all we had. I moved to another state in 1998 and there was a Hollywood Video a few minutes from my house. I became attached to that place really fast and was very sad when they closed.

I worked at Blockbuster and Hollywood video. I preferred Hollywood video as a customer. The job was ok but I hated the purple long sleeves shirts they made us wear. I actually liked working at Blockbuster it was at the very end so nobody really cared anymore. Retail sucks because of the customers and the pay but I do miss the coworkers.

Had a Hollywood Video and Blockbuster near our house, but the Hollywood was closer in walking distance, and I just really liked the vibe more than Blockbuster. I definitely still get nostalgic thinking about all the times I'd walk over to Hollywood Video with my little sister, and we'd rent movies and games. Very sad to see the place eventually be turned into a local clinic somewhere around 2008 or so

one of my clearest, early memories from childhood is sitting on the floor of a Hollywood Video in Arizona, watching whatever was playing on the television they had hanging in one corner. i probably rented a Gumby VHS that day. the sunlight felt like 4pm on a Sunday. i am very fond of that memory, and was so sad when they closed my sophomore year.

I was born in ‘94 and I clearly remember going to Blockbuster and Hollywood Video as a kid! I personally always preferred Hollywood Video as well!

The end of this almost got a few tears out of me.

Man so many good memories buying and renting VHS tapes at Hollywood Video and Blockbuster Video in the 90’s same thing with DVDs in the early 2000’s

I remember this store very well. Our location also had a Game Crazy. It is now a Dollar Tree.

Hollywood video was always my preferred store over Blockbuster. I liked the experience and selection so much more, especially when they opened Game Crazy. Once that part opened I rarely had a reason to go to Blockbuster. I miss this store so much!

I must say I do miss the era of Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. I still remember times as a kid in the 90s and 2000s always wanting my mom to take me to Hollywood or Blockbuster every Friday to rent a movie for the weekend. Streaming is convenient now with Netflix and Hulu and Disney+, but picking out a physical movie was just something different.

Hollywood video is more of 2000s thing for me. It was always Blockbuster in the 90s or Ultimate video.

Man those days were the best especially in the weekends.

That was my go to video store as a kid.

Met a zillion girls at Hollywood Video. It was the place to go for all of us back in the day. What was cool about Hollywood Video is that it was like a Mom & Pop video rental store, and it had all the independent and older stuff always on hand. They also had all the new stuff on hand. But yeah it was the place to run into people.

Oh man i really miss that Hollywood video but i wish the Hollywood video would stay forever

I ran a Game Crazy, then later a Game Crazy and the Hollywood Video for a number of years, right up to the final days. So many ups and downs those last few years - made some lifelong friendships there though, and will always have a special place. Sad to see the industry fall - I still miss it, even with the convenience of streaming...

I was in a Hollywood Video location in my state. It was in an outlet building. The spot where it once stood is now a Five Guys Burgers And Fries.

I loved both going in picking movies or video games and buying snacks like in a movie theater and picking up some pizza hut back when it was good to take home great memories

Both the Blockbuster and Hollywood Video in my area got converted into liquor stores whose names were inspired by the video rental stores. One is called Busters and the other is Hollywood Liquor. Man I miss those Saturday nights where my parents would get me and my bro a pizza and take us to either place to rent some game for the weekend.

I grew up in the 90s as well and the video store was a huge part of my childhood. My neighborhood had both Hollywood and blockbuster right across the street. I would shop at both. At times I preferred Hollywood because they would have hard to find films like certain independent films that blockbuster didn't carry. Even though streaming is very convenient it can't replace the video rental experience. Sad to know my children will never get to experience this.

god i miss videostores, i grew up in the 80s and our small town of 30,000 citizens had 8 videostores that all did good business and i became a member of them all because of their different horror sections. the age rating back then was only advisory and NEVER enforced (except with porn) so i had no problem whatsoever renting uncut R-rated action and unrated horror when i was still in elementary school😇 (ratings are dumb anyway: The Nightmare on Elmstreet movies are R-rated and i think we all saw those movies as a kid and none of us needed psychiatric counseling after having seen any movie!)

I remember renting videos from Hollywood Video. Man, those were the days.

Hollywood Video was way better than Blockbuster Imo & it seemed always closer to where I lived too!

I sometimes dream that the Hollywood Video closest to me is a video store but a different company. I don't dream about Blockbuster.

As a former Hollywood Video Store Manager this video brought back memories ❤

Great job on the video mate. I see see million videos about Blockbuster, but hardly ever see anything Hollywood video. I remember going to a Hollywood Video all the time when I was a kid, and loved it. Such fond memories!

I used to go to Max Video in the early 90’s and late 90’s and then to Hollywood Video in the early 2000’s. Good times REGARDLESS!

Hollywood Video was superior to Blockbuster when it came to selection of movies. BB mostly had newer movies and a handful of older ones, while HV had a little bit of everything for every genre.

Hollywood Video was the best. They had the video game place next to it that my kids loved

I still remember going to Hollywood Video when I was a kid and liked the neon lights and everything they have like games.

Was always a Hollywood video kid. Can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve been to block buster.

My cousin was general manager of the one close to my house in high school. He got me a job there and it was awesome.

My local Hollywood Video always had better pricing than Blockbuster and a much better video game selection. Those were the days...

I actually liked Hollywood Videos selection better compared to Blockbuster. Better selection of horror, older movies, Kaiju, video games. Blockbuster felt more like a family friendly establishment. With me being a curious kid who wanted to see new horror movies and sci-fi, Hollywood was the place to go!

Man I miss Hollywood Video and Blockbuster stores, used to love to visit to rent movies and video games since they both were in my hometown, Blockbuster was literally about 2 blocks away and Hollywood Video was on the otherside of town. Now Blockbuster is a Denny's and Hollywood Video is Mountain Mike's pizza which i still to this day visit lol.

I remember Hollywood Video very well. It was my family store up until our local one closed in 2007. We were exclusively Blockbuster after that, but I still miss the atmosphere of the store. Game Crazy was awesome too. Miss those days!

My memory of this store is renting the 90s Power Rangers VHS, man I miss those days

Not sure about everyone else’s Hollywood Video, but the one in my town, upon entering the store and on the opposing wall that you see as you enter, was a GIANT mural of the ever so campy 1995 Batman Forever poster and it made going there just so fkn epic. Ugh…good times.

Thanks for watching! This channel will continue with content in the near future.

i worked at hollywood, it was a great job, taking home new release movies a week before, fun, miss it

Hollywood video was my favorite movie store. Blockbuster was good but they really didn't have the movies I wanted to watch. I do have a blockbuster movie that I never returned lol. This was around 5 or so years ago.

I think the beginning segment kind of summed up part of what went to the crash of stores like Hollywood: social experiences. It's almost like as the internet grew, social life declined and isolation started to take over. COVID I think was the thing that solidified that move.

I have good memories with Hollywood Video. They use to have a lot of old Godzilla films.

Going to the side of the counter where the returns that haven't been shelved yet would be. Then get excited when you found what you wanted. Great times.

I loved buying used stuff from these guys

I sure miss video stores. There was just something special about going there and picking out your movies and games. It's easier getting them digitally now, I cant deny that, but it's just not the same.

Always loved hollywood video more as a kid. Don’t get me wrong blockbuster was cool too, but hollywood video was more sentimental to me

Great video. I was a Hollywood Video fan and an occasional Blockbuster customer. Hollywood was the go-to however and a huge part of my life like so many people. Truly magical. Still have The Punisher PS2 game from there!!! Good times.

I’ll never forget the sticker on the VHS that said. Please be kind and re rind. The one in our town turned into a Chipotle restaurant.

Hollywood Video was definetly a big part of my childhood i remember mine in michigan had the characters on the wall which looked really cool to me and kept my pokemon vhs tape it also had a gamestop attached to it too

If people miss going to video stores they should stop streaming movies and start opening video stores again and going there to get DVDs instead.

I used to be an assistant manager at a Hollywood video

We had a Hollywood video down the street from my childhood house. I remember how sad i was when these stores closed. I miss the 80s-early 2000s.

A dental office is now where my Hollywood video used to be. I often wonder if there is anybody who passes by and thinks of how many hours we spent trying to pick the perfect combo of movies to last for the weekend 😕

Video Magic was my my rental location of choice as a kid. =D

I remember there was a Hollywood Video not far from where I live. It was right to a McDonald's. To bad it's no more and turned to a pawn shop.

I was a shift leader (aka Key Grip) at Hollywood Video I worked there for two years beginning in high school. One thing that everyone noticed working for the company was the amount of unnecessary management. You had the three sometimes four (usually two shift leaders) in the store alone but outside they had a District manager, Regional manager, Group Manager and I believe two others before getting to CEO. It was ridiculous we just rented out videos lol. They spend so much money on these people who had no clue how to even interact with people. That was a huge downfall but I did enjoy most of the people I worked with.

I miss Hollywood Video so much! Thanks for the history lesson!

How funny, at 6:10 the store shown I was the manager for Hollywood Video at from 2006 to 2009 when in January of 2010 I was replaced. I was glad to have been let go before the final days of the company.

Hollywood Video was way better than Netflix

Hollywood Video was the only store I could go to when I lived in a town of about 30,000 people in Central California, but I mainly went to Blockbuster for when I lived outside the Bay Area or in the Mount Shasta area.

I only preferred Hollywood video store over Blockbuster. Still miss them both though.

i remember when it was called VIDEO WATCH and later became HOLLYWOOD VIDEO these old memories with me and i'm sure with many others will never fade

I still remember the friday night i was mezmorized by the vhs cover of spirited away(dub) in my local hollywood video as a kid stared at it for minutes front to back and ran to my parents to ask if we could rent it. One of the best movies and experiences in my childhood. Good ol days lol.

I always prefered Hollywood Video over Blockbuster. Got better deals, more copies of movies & games, guranteed rainchecks if wat u want isnt available, game crazy & in high school had a friend who hooked me up & hold newly release stuff for me. More importantly 5 Day rentals unlike Blockbusters shitty 1-3 Day rentals & return b4 Noon crap. I had school from morning till late noon, I aint got time to return something at noon, Hollywood is b4 Midnight now THATS worth it

I remember the Hollywood video near my house had this huge mural of Batman Forever until the day they closed. I always loved going into Hollywood Video with how open it felt and the general look of the place, it bummed me out the day it closed, but when it did, I was able to get some great deals on some dvds that I still have to this day and that still have Hollywood Video stickers on them. I miss going to a video store.

I had 3 Hollywood videos in my area 2 became dental offices and 1 is abandoned

When I was little, one of my favorite places to go was Hollywood Video. I remember always getting random kid videos and games for the Nintendo GameCube I used to own. Sadly, the building became a paint shop and every time I pass by that building it made me sad because a part of my childhood used to be that building and it’s gone. I wish that Hollywood Video would be revived😢

I would be a Hollywood guy if I was born in the 2000s

Any fellow southerners remember Pick a flick and Real Mooooovies?

I miss working there :'(

I remember the old mom and pop rental stores before blockbuster and Hollywood video came along.

Going to Hollywood video there was so much purple 😂

I love this was thinking about the image of old Hollywood Video at the stadium Fred Meyers which also made me think of another location Hollywood west Fred Meyers remembering how that location was quite large just recently added into that Fred Meyers they used to just use it as a storage area and that huge one on Sandy Boulevard we had so many of them here in Portland

I miss going to Video Warehouse every weekend and renting a movie

I’ll never forget going to both places. Specifically Hollywood Video. Fondly remember as a kid going with my dad right about 10:00-10:30PM usually Thursday/Friday’s to go rent a movie to watch at home with my parents while my dad allowing to also get a game or two to play while my parents watched their movies. Because of that I was opened to so many great video games and movies which is something I’m blessed for. I tear up sometimes because that was once part of my childhood growing up and it was always exciting going to Hollywood video with my dad. It for sure holds a place dearly and close to me. Lastly after renting and returning the rented movies/games I’d convince my father to stop next door at Game Crazy to check out the stuff they had for sale. Mostly because after renting a game or two I’d finish a a game or two campaign so I’d be hooked on it to buy it, which was very convenient to rent games out to see if they are good or not. Definitely remember the last time I went in to Game Crazy was to check for Nintendo Wii when first released. Never got lucky getting one but I was there for the release of Super Smash Bros Brawl. Only time I got to experience a game launch at midnight release and it was very great experience buying from the store I spent most of my time buying games from. Very nostalgic and great memories.

I thought Hollywood Video was our special little bootleg Blockbuster growing up. 😂 We had one in a suburb of Chicago, and I don't remember seeing many others. I loved they had an entire video game area, buy new/ used games and accessories. Also remember doing fart machine pranks at that place, and getting kicked out a lot. 😅

Man it wa just something about Hollywood video!!! Loved LOOOVED that store. Was way better than blockbuster to me. It always felt more simpler. And the store was just smaller and easier and had better candy/snack choices in my opinion! Kind of seemed like blockbuster was trying to hard and a bit boujee maybe? Felt like Hollywood video had better customer service too.

I like your videos man, you should make some more! I made one on Hollywood Video as well!

I knew Mark and his dad Bruce Wattles personally. I worked for corporate, Control Technologies (C=Tech) and was a tech writer for the software involved on the rental end. I was in the office the moment they went public in 1994. I was there when Bruce came up with Game Crazy. Wilsonville, Oregon. I parted ways when I got married and moved to Denver to build my own empire.

Excellent job on the video! I personally miss Hollywood Video. We had tons of them here in Chicago and they had more immense selections than Blockbuster. I would go there for their 6-day DVD rentals for $2.99 and buy them for the same price. Those were the days. Now all of the movie-streaming services has replaced them and I personally don't watch movies online at all (call me traditional and old-fashioned, but I still prefer DVDs, and I still have my VHS tapes too).

I remember the Hollywood video. I used to rent movies and games there.

I always like Hollywood better than Blockbuster. Always seemed to have what I wanted unlike Blockbuster. At one point not long before they failed they tried a plan that I loved in order to try and compete. Pay a monthly price, and you could rent unlimited movies (I believe it was 2 at a time) for the month. Rent...rip to computer..return..over and over. I think Blockbuster tried something similar when they attempted kiosks and mail in their attempt to be Redbox and Netflix but that was way too late.

I used to rent Sonic adventure 2 battle for GameCube from them. Good times.

Maple Grove, MN had Block Buster and Hollywood Video next to each other

Lol, I'm viewer number 666. Also great vid, these stores were everywhere in StL. Had a much better video selection then blockbuster! More anime more mature games. where I got a bulk of my video tape collection after these stores closed.

back when i found out they were going to close my friend went an rented as many games as he could from 6 diffrent stores they never did anything to him

I worked at Hollywood Video in my home town when I was in high school. I had left before it got shut down, and I can say that the store closing was one of the BEST Days of my life. The store was horribly run by management both in the store and corporately. When they had a “going of of business sale” I stepped foot in there for the first time since leaving and laughed in the face of my former “manager” good times!!

I still have the membership card.

I had a Family Video just down the road when I moved to my new apartment a couple of years back. I always thought "I should visit them at some point" whenever I drove by. Now I will never have the opportunity since they were killed because of COVID despite doing decently before... If I had started watching my (now favorite) TV show Stranger Things years ago I would have immediately gone into the store when seeing it because of its inclusion in the show. But I just started watching the series and now I am sad. COVID destroyed the last great movie rental chain along with many other things. It sickens me that my future children will never get the opportunity to walk through these classic stores (specifically Blockbuster for me) like I had the chance to. :(