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Blockbuster Suffers As Consumers Go Out To The Movies

Too many people are venturing out to movie theaters, according to Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, which is putting a crimp on DVD rentals. He told analysts that nearly three million more people have gone to the movies each week in 2009 than last year, pulling traffic from his outlets to the tune of a nearly 20% drop in revenue ($1.12 billion) and a nearly 40% fall in net income ($27.7 million).

But Keyes promises that Blockbuster's stores will be fully stocked and aggressively marketing the value of rentals in the wake of its renegotiation last month of a revolving line of credit, Ben Fritz reports.

Keyes says a strong lineup of films such as "Star Trek" and "Fast & Furious" could improve performance later in the year. Blockbuster is also looking to sell products like "movie-themed sunglasses" and Blu-ray players in stores, to boost its Netflix-like DVD-by-mail and digital download businesses, and to roll out more than 3,000 Redbox-like kiosks through a partnership with manufacturer NCR.

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