The last Blockbuster store in the US that was widely rumored to close for good today has no plans to shutter its doors despite the speculation.
Fans had been saddened to learn through social media the last Blockbuster store in Bend, Oregon, would reportedly close this Halloween, that is until Blockbuster confirmed that this was thankfully not the case.
The store urged fans not to believe everything they read on the internet and wrote it would be here 'until the bitter end' in an Instagram post.
They later created a second Instagram post featuring an image announcing its falsely reported closure with the words 'fake news.'
The social media frenzy over the issue began after an image of the Blockbuster store with a closure date went viral.
The last Blockbuster store in America confirmed the store would not close its doors for good on Halloween in two Instagram posts
The Blockbuster store in Bend, Oregon, insisted its 'end of an era' is 'fake news'
The widely circulated photo claimed the Blockbuster would close its doors on October 31 and mark 'the official end of the iconic video rental chain.'
Various X users were quick to comment on the image, and one insisted Blockbuster was a 'good example of a company not adapting to change.'
'It's sad to see a nostalgic icon like Blockbuster fade away, highlighting the rapid shift from physical rentals to streaming,' an X user tweeted on October 26.
The Blockbuster location replied to both of their responses later that day and assured all of its fans that the store's Halloween closure was completely fabricated.
Instagram users were thrilled to learn the store closure was a 'false report,' and one person believed the last US Blockbuster location will 'outlast cockroaches and Twinkies.'
Blockbuster fans were sad to hear about the so-called closure after a photo claiming it was shutting down went viral on social media
Debbie Tisher (pictured) and her husband Ken Tisher are co-owners of the final Blockbuster location in Bend, Oregon
Blockbuster was founded by David Cook, and the first store opened in Dallas, Texas, on October 19, 1985.
The original store had more than 8,000 tapes on display, and it quickly expanded following its success in Texas, according to History.
By 2004, there were more than 9,000 Blockbusters in the US, and it launched an online DVD rental service to compete with Netflix later that year.
This venture did not work, and the company later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2010.
Blockbuster had more than 9,000 US stores in 2004. All the company-owned Blockbusters were closed by 2014. Pictured: A Blockbuster store in NYC in 2011
Thousands of Blockbuster locations nationwide closed, and the last company-owned locations shut its doors for good by 2014.
Unlike the company-owned stores, Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon, is independently owned by Debbie Tisher and her husband, Ken Tisher.
The final US Blockbuster store has seemingly thrived over the years, and it currently has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram.
The store has also enjoyed friendly competition with Netflix, and the Oregon store even bragged about its DVD rentals since Netflix stopped mailing DVDs to streamers last year.