End credits not rolling yet for Alberta video store surviving streaming services, COVID-19 pandemic

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far, far away, people would visit their neighbourhood video store on a Friday evening, select several VHS tapes or DVDsfrom the shelves and rent them for their weekend entertainment.

The rise of Netflix and other streaming services in the 2010s sent the movie rental business crashing. But onevideo storeis still standing.

"The reaction is almost always the same:[new customers]just take a look around and take it all in, and they can't believe that there's still a movie store," said Joe French, owner of Movieworld,located on South Park Drive in Stony Plain, Alta., a town about 35 kilometres west of Edmonton.

"It kills me every time. I love it."

Movieworldhas been openfor40 years. French described the store as "pretty tough,"outliving Blockbuster and Rogers Video, and surviving through the success of streaming services and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Netflix, at first, controlled the streaming market and became a tough competitor for video stores like Movieworld, French said.

Blockbuster stores in Canada shut down in 2011 and now there is only oneBlockbuster left in the world inBend, Ore.Rogersclosed its video stores in 2012.

Now, though, there aremore streaming servicesthat have created competition for Netflix, such as Crave and Disney Plus, and people must subscribe to certain platformsto watchcertain content.

Thishas helpedMovieworld because it sells all of the content, plus some obscure entertainment the streaming companies might not know of, French explained.

Nostalgiahas likely been the key factor to the store'ssurvival, however.

"There's nothing like a Friday or Saturday night,loading upthe family, coming here, grabbing a pizza, picking out everyone's favourite movies, and just sitting down [at home] as a family and enjoying your favourite films," French said.

Some Movieworld customers have been visiting since the store opened. Now they're introducing theirchildren and grandchildrento how people used to watch movies, which is "really, really fun," Frenchsaid.

"It's old school, which is nice. I like old school," said customer Lawrence Rowley.

Other customers, meanwhile, just don't want to stream movies.Edward Newman, a Movieworld customer since 1999,prefersgetting out and going to the video store.

"I like the atmosphere. I like the people who work here, even the previous owner," Newmansaid. "I like it here."

'It's a dream job for me'

French, an avid movie fan and collector, would visit Movieworldalmost daily.The previous owner, who ran the store for 18 years,noticed and eventually offered French to take over.

"It's a dream job for me just to own my own movie store,"said French, who has owned the video storefor just over a year.

Movieworldreceives a shipment of new releases every Tuesday, but French adds about 10 to 20 classic movies to the store's inventory every day. If a movie hasn't rented for a couple of years, French will make space for something else that may become popular, he said.

When Frenchis offthe clock,he scoursfor titles to add to the store's collection through distributors and, sometimes, other movie collectors.

"I'm always looking to add new titles and nostalgia factorthrough the titles stuff that a lot of people haven't seen since they were kids, where they walk by and see the cover and it's, 'Ohmy God, I can't believe that movie's here,'" he said.

If someone asks for a rare movie title, French will "go basically hunting for that one gemthat I have to bring it in to the shop."

Colleen Doughertyvisits Movieworld specifically for its collection.

"There are thousands of movies you can watch over and over again, but there are movies [here] that I've never seen and I've watched all of them," Dougherty said.

French is also knowledgeable about movies and "knows exactly what I want," she added.