Awesome ‘Free Blockbusters’ Sharing Movies All Over Colorado

You've heard of "Little Free Libraries," the boxes where you can take and/or drop off books to share with others. Well, there's something similar popping up all over Colorado, but these involve DVD's and VHS tapes.

They're called Free Blockbusters, and they're sweeping the nation. You'll find five such locations just in Colorado. Here's where you can find them, and how you can get on board.

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What Are 'Free Blockbuster' Dispensers?

Do you remember Blockbuster video stores? You could find them everywhere. Well, they went bye-bye. Fast forward to 2022, and Free Blockbusters are popping up all over the place.

According to freeblockbuster.org, "A Free Blockbuster is a place where people can leave movies so other people can borrow them. Like those Little Free Libraries where you can take or leave a book, but for VHS tapes and DVDs (and anything else you want to share with your neighbors)."

When Did These Come About?

This phenomenon is not even four years old. Back in December of 2018, a former Blockbuster employee came up with an exciting way to "...breathe new life into an abandoned LA Times newspaper dispenser." Less than three months later, the first Free Blockbuster was born.

Free Blockbuster Dispensers All Over Colorado

Don't feel bad if you haven't seen one of these. Most were set up only in the last few months. At present, you'll find five Free Blockbusters in Colorado, most in the Denver area.

How To Set Up a Free Blockbuster

Anyone can start up their own Free Blockbuster. The "franchise" Free Blockbuster has absolutely nothing to do with the popular movie rental/book stores Blockbuster Video.

To get started, you'll need to find an old newspaper/magazine dispenser or something similar. If you can't find one, the organization, as of October 25, 2022, has "... a limited number of fully-decorated Free Blockbuster Boxes available while supplies last."

If you can find a box to repurpose, Free Blockbuster offers stencils you can download so that you can decorate the dispenser to match others. Pre-cut logo stencils are also available.

From there, you simply fill the box with VHS tapes or DVDs. Once you're up and rolling, you can notify freeblockbuster.org, and they'll add you to their map.

Start One In Western Colorado

Do you remember about ten years ago when Little Free Libraries started popping up all over Grand Junction? Imagine if we could get one of these going. The Little Free Library just off 29 Road and Patterson was built using an old newspaper dispenser. It works like a charm. Who's going to be first?