Netflix announced earlier this year that they would be shutting down their original DVD-by-mail business and that day has finally arrived. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos took to Instagram to announce that the company has now shipped out its last DVD, but which film has the honor of occupying that final red envelope?
According to Deadline, the last Netflix DVD was a copy of the Coen Brothers’ True Grit. “Today, after 25 years, we ship our last DVD,” Ted Sarandos wrote on Instagram. “It was a huge honor to join the incredible DVD team in Fremont this week to thank them for being a part something that changed people’s lives. Those iconic red envelopes were so loved that we shipped more than 5 billion of them to cities and towns, big and small that otherwise would have had no access to the variety of films and television shows we made available. Thank you to all of our members and DVD employees for 25 history making years!“
Before Netflix began streaming movies and TV shows, their service delivered DVDs to customers, who would mail them back in those red envelopes when they were done. Blockbuster was still king of the DVD rental market at the time, but the iconic company would soon feel the power of Netflix and ultimately shut down.
“After an incredible 25 year run, we’ve decided to wind down DVD.com later this year,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a statement in April. “Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that’s going to become increasingly difficult. So we want to go out on a high, and will be shipping our final discs on September 29, 2023.” Sarandos added: “Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home — and they paved the way for the shift to streaming. From the beginning, our members loved the choice and control that direct-to-consumer entertainment offered: the wide variety of the titles and the ability to binge watch entire series. DVDs also led to our first foray into original programming — with Red Envelope Entertainment titles including Sherrybaby and Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion.”
The very first DVD Netflix ever shipped out was a copy of Beetlejuice on March 10, 1998. Back then, it would have been difficult to imagine that rental stores would go the way of the dodo and streaming services would rule the market.
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