“Wanted” a Top Weekend Rental at Redbox®

Redbox reports Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “Wanted” was among the top weekend rentals at redbox kiosks nationwide. Despite the studio’s attempt to limit distribution of Universal Studios titles at kiosks, “Wanted” received more than 230,000 rentals at redbox in the week following its release date. To uphold its commitment to consumers, unparalleled convenience and value, redbox implemented new acquisition strategies and distributed more than 100,000 copies of “Wanted” to kiosks nationwide in time for the weekend movie rush.

Redbox’s new acquisition arrangements are a direct response to the lawsuit filed on October 10, 2008 against Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) and three of its affiliates. Redbox filed the action because new distribution terms proposed by USHE would prohibit redbox from renting Universal Studios DVDs for 45 days after their public release, would limit how many Universal Studios DVDs each redbox kiosk could carry, and would require redbox to destroy, rather than sell at a discount, previously-viewed DVDs from its kiosks. Redbox took action against the studio to protect its business model and continue to offer consumers the latest new releases for $1 per night.

“Redbox developed new distribution strategies and incurred additional costs to ensure our customers receive access to titles from all studios for just $1 per night,” said Gregg Kaplan, chief executive officer, redbox.

Redbox’s revised acquisition process allowed the company to circulate more than 100,000 copies of “Wanted” to kiosks nationwide within three days of release date and in time to meet weekend demand. Moving forward, redbox will continue to streamline the distribution process of Universal Studios titles to limit customer impact.

About Redbox

Redbox Automated Retail, LLC offers new release DVD rentals for $1 per night through its nationwide network of conveniently located, self-service kiosks. Redbox is available at more than 10,000 locations nationwide, including select McDonald’s® restaurants, leading grocery and convenience stores and Walmart and Walgreens stores in select markets. For more information about redbox, visit www.redbox.com.

Contacts

Redbox Media Contact:
Kristin Zanini, JSH&A Public Relations, (630) 932-9316