Do you still remember the smell of Blockbuster? You never imagined it, but it really existed

Today, the name Blockbuster is perhaps one of the most powerful triggers for what TikTok calls “Millennial Nostalgia”. It evokes an era when renting a movie wasn’t just a click but a social ritual: you spent a lot of time choosing a film, without being able to read online reviews; when you rented it, watching it was an event in itself, and distractions were few because smartphones weren’t even around; the responsibility of the choice was immense. In the ’90s and early 2000s, Blockbuster stores were a kind of uncharted land, with their endless shelves of VHS and DVDs, posters, cardboard cutouts, snacks, and toys. Today, Blockbuster is the symbol of an analog, pre-streaming world that history has left behind. Over the years, on Reddit and social media, countless nostalgic discussions and questions have accumulated about the chain and, above all, about the smell you’d feel entering the stores, an aroma that many fondly recall as a portal to the past. A bit all over the world, Italy included, you could smell that odor: but what exactly was it?

Why did Blockbuster smell that way?

Strange to say, but the smell of Blockbuster wasn’t programmed or branded; it came from all the elements of the video rental store’s decor and thus was present in stores worldwide in an almost identical way. One of the most important and hard-to-recognize notes was plastic: the adhesive tape and cases, but also the cassettes and discs, often new or freshly handled, released a slight chemical odor, similar to that of factory-fresh plastic materials, from the adhesive labels sealing the cases, and from the warm monitors of the computers. Then there was the smell of stale carpet, with notes of dust and odors accumulated over time, while the air conditioning contributed to creating a scent that was both dry, metallic, and dusty. The central notes were popcorn, served fresh in heated containers that gave off a buttery and sugary smell, next to containers of candies and snacks. Over time, the cassettes and DVDs accumulated a layer of dust, adding notes of paper and cardboard from the covers or promotional materials, while in some cases (but only in U.S. stores) the artificial air freshener Glade Aqua Waves was used, distributed across nearly all locations.

Reading online questions, many users were convinced that this smell, similar to that of cinemas with its touch of popcorn and plastic, was intentional, designed to create an inviting and memorable atmosphere that encouraged customers to linger. Perhaps in 2025 it would have been, but in reality, the combination was accidental—similar, by the way, to the smell felt in certain old cinemas and which today, in multiplexes, is replaced by a fresh and artificial smell similar to that of new cars. But in reality, it’s the memory of that smell that has made it distinctive—so much so that over the years, several companies have offered scented candles with the aroma of a video store, while a few years later, the Blockbuster brand, which still exists in a single location in the world, in Oregon, began selling the official Blockbuster Candle—a sign that a market for nostalgic scents exists.