The end of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

The abandoned Blockbuster Video store at Fallowfield Retail Park in Manchester, England has been demolished.

I spotted the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and have passed by many times since on my way to and from Manchester.

There are still two signs up on the main sign for the retail park

Until recently it was a very well preserved former Blockbuster shop - with some signage still intact, as well as the QuikDrop box, desks and counters intact.

Here's what the storefront looked like in January 2022.

Earlier this week demolition work started on several units at Fallowfield Retail Park, with the ex-Blockbuster also being knocked down to make way for a new Lidl supermarket.

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Photos of the site (12th January 2024)

Blockbuster Video in the UK

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on the 16th December 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.

Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited on our travels

Our interest in lost brands and retail history has taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester