Remaining Movie Gallery stores to close

Looking to rent a movie for a quiet night in? With the last three Movie Gallery locations to close, options in the Flathead Valley just got smaller.

Movie Gallery Inc. announced Friday that it will shutter its remaining 2,415 stores nationwide by the end of summer.

That includes stores in Columbia Falls, Evergreen and Kalispell.

Employees learned Friday that stores would no longer receive new releases, but had been given no definite timeline for when locations would close as of Tuesday evening. A total of 14 jobs will be lost at the three stores.

In February, the company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than three years. Its debt burden then was estimated at $600 million. 

Two Kalispell stores and a Whitefish store closed last year as Movie Gallery tried to reduce its debt. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that plans to focus the company around a cluster of high-performing stores fell through, as did a deal to sell high-performing outlets to rival Blockbuster Inc.

While still ranked No. 1 in the movie rental industry, Blockbuster also is struggling to compete in an increasingly online market. The Kalispell store closed in March and the company is reportedly on schedule to shut down nearly 1,000 more by year’s end in its efforts to remain solvent.

A manager for the Kalispell and Evergreen Movie Gallery outlets said her stores had seen increased traffic since Blockbuster closed.

Former Movie Gallery employee Taryn Freeman said she hopes displaced customers will now patronize Hometown Movies and More, a new movie rental site. Located in the former Movie Gallery location on U.S. 93 South, the store opened three weeks ago.

Freeman, an assistant manager there, said she already has 400 loyal customers with room for many more.

“[Customers] are used to everybody closing down. People need to know we’re here,” she said.