Blockbuster Set To Close—But Now It's Not

Blockbuster received word that it would close its Montclair location earlier in the week—only to find out late Wednesday night that the business actually will stay open, an employee confirmed on the phone Thursday.

"We were told we were closing and that we'd be liquidating and we were all set to do that and then we got an emergency notice last night that we were going to stay open," the employee said.

Earlier this year, in April, the Blockbuster that's located in the CVS Plaza at Claremont Avenue and Pine Street released word that it would shut down, but then suddenly reopened again.

Meanwhile, a nearby Blockbuster, on Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell, received word that it will stop renting after Dec. 26, when it will begin liquidating the store's inventory.

Plagued by debt and overcome by changes in how consumers acquire media, Blockbuster filed for bankrupcty in 2010.

Although Blockbuster was purchased by the satellite company Dish Network earlier this year, hundreds of stores have closed, including all stores in Canada, with many more set to shutter in the near future. Other Patch sites around the country have reported store closings, including locations in , and .

The first Blockbuster opened in Texas in 1985. With some 4,000 stores at its peak, it was once the leader in the video rental space, and the place to go to pick up new releases as well as classic movies, at a fraction of what it would cost to see them at a cinema.

But "going out of business" signs have become the norm at brick and mortar video stores, which have failed to compete with the emergence of digital age competition, such as mail-order company Netflix and rental kiosks like Redbox.