Dollar Movies @ Redbox

***FreePlus Rating: 9/10***
Who can say no to new releases at a fraction of the price of movie theater tickets? However, you do forgo the blockbuster impact of a life size screen and sound effects in a movie theater.

Watching movies is probably the most common if not the largest form of entertainment. Despite the economic downturn, box office ticket sales continue to increase with revenues surpassing $1B in January which is a year-over-year growth of nearly 20%. However, why spend $12 on movie tickets when you can see the same film on DVD for a dollar per night by just waiting a few months?

Many of you may have noticed Redbox machines popping up in supermarkets and grocery stores in your neighborhood in the past few years. These red machines can hold more than 600 DVDs and any where from 70-200 titles most of which are recent releases. Redbox has actually been around since 2003 when the first kiosks were placed at 140 McDonald's in Denver. Just last month Redbox was bought for $175M by Coinstar. In 2007 it passed Blockbuster in total U.S. locations and it most recently passed Blockbuster in online site visitors according to data from Compete.

The ease of renting and returning movies at any Redbox machine plus the low cost of $1 per night for rental are the key competitive advantages for the company. So the next time you go to see a movie in a theater, remember that you can see a dozen Redbox movies for the same price by just waiting a few months for the DVD release. That's not to say that I never go to movie theaters. In fact, I'm looking forward to watching Julia Robert's Duplicity on the big screen later this month but Redbox movies are great for the waiting period in between theater outings.

Redbox: http://www.redbox.com/home.aspx

Tips: Beware of the long lines at Redbox machines as they grow in popularity. Redbox has not yet figured out a way to allow those returning DVDs to bypass the indecisive renters. Reserve your movie in advance online so that you don't have to wait in line at the store only to realize that the movie you want to see is not in the machine when it's finally your turn.