Redbox Crosses 2 Billion Disc Rental Mark

NEW YORK - DVD rental kiosk operator Redbox said Monday it crossed the milestone of 2 billion movie and game rentals this weekend.

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The 2 billionth disc was Drive and was rented at a McDonald's in Philomath, Ore., the company, which is part of CoinStar, said Monday. It also announced a free, one-night movie rental on Thursday that will be available to all consumers who use a promotional code available on the Redbox Facebook page.

"We've always known how much America loves easy, affordable entertainment, and today we can prove it 2 billion times over," said CoinStar CFO Scott Di Valerio who is interim president of Redbox. "Just 18 months ago, we rented our 1 billionth DVD and we couldn't be more excited to celebrate this remarkable second rental milestone with our customers."

Redbox has more than 35,400 kiosks nationwide across 29,000 locations.

Last week, the company extended a deal with Universal Pictures that locks in a 28 day delay for rentals following their home entertainment release. Meanwhile, Time Warner's Warner Bros. studio unit has pushed for a delay of 56 days.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai