On a regular day, owner Peter Thompson sits behind the store\u2019s counter laden with film discs, assorted papers and a gumball machine. A three-foot tall Darth Vader statue on a tall shelf overlooks him, an homage to The Empire Strikes Back<\/a>, one of his favourite films. He awaits a stream of regular customers, about 50 or so per day, to come in, make film-related conversation and browse his seemingly never-ending shelves.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTop Gun came out in \u201886 and it changed everything for me,\u201d Thompson tells the Charlatan from behind his counter. \u201cI saw it for the first time at 10 or 11-years-old with a buddy. We saw it, it was loud, it was fast, and then I started to realize there\u2019s way more than just that.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess it made an impression on me.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson\u2019s parents opened Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff in 1984. It was once a chain of five Ottawa locations. Familiar with managing the store since he was a young adult, Thompson purchased the business about eight years ago.<\/p>\n He has witnessed Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff outlast Blockbuster stores, the dominant era of streaming and similar businesses like Glebe Video<\/a> and Elgin Video<\/a> shutting their doors. Now, Thompson says he doesn\u2019t often think about how he runs the city\u2019s only video rental store left standing \u2014 but community support and his willingness to adapt have helped to keep things afloat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been up against this and that and whatever,\u201d he says, \u201cbut just put the work in and you\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n The era of streaming<\/p>\n Thompson didn\u2019t always plan to take over the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen (my parents) were going to retire, I thought, \u2018Okay, what am I doing here?\u2019\u201d he says, adding that he had other career prospects, like various sales jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n He was also a Carleton history and film studies student before he left school to briefly produce small films and write screenplays.\u00a0<\/p>\n When word spread that the store may close, \u201cPeople came in droves and said, \u2018Don\u2019t do it!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson developed a business plan with his knowledge about managing the store with help from his mother, a chartered accountant.<\/p>\n The dawn of streaming services was at the front of his mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStreaming is here, but it\u2019s going to fracture so much that after a while, a lot of people are going to get really annoyed,\u201d Thomson says of his thought process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I could still make a go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2025, British Columbia research group Convergence Research<\/a> estimated that 46 per cent of Canadian households no longer subscribe to cable, and that Canadians are continuously opting for paid streaming platforms like Netflix or Disney Plus.\u00a0<\/p>\n Marc Furstenau, a Carleton film studies professor who researches technology and film, theorizes convenience and availability are driving factors.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go to the video store, and there are only so many copies (of films) that people want to see,\u201d Furstenau says. \u201cWith the internet, it\u2019s actually unlimited because there are as many copies for people who want to see it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Streaming algorithms are also programmed to provide curated recommendations, Furstenau adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re constantly having films suggested to you \u2026 in a much more comprehensive and systematic way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But Thompson doesn\u2019t think that streaming selections and recommendations are all that great, calling some streaming giants\u2019 content \u201crubbish\u201d and \u201ctrash.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNinety-nine out of 100 times, you\u2019re not going to have a video store, so you\u2019re going to whatever rubbish Netflix you have and check your algorithms that say you might like this or that,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s no problem, but you\u2019re missing a huge part of the movie world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Thompson has spent years curating Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff\u2019s stock with physical copies of old, niche and international films that are not easily available online to set his collection apart. Thompson has also branched out to sell physical copies of films online.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, really, somebody comes in and says, \u2018Do you have this?\u2019 and I\u2019ve heard of it,\u201d he says. \u201cNo amount of algorithms is ever going to get you to that point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Outliving video store giant Blockbuster<\/p>\n But before streaming had even become something for Thompson to compete with, he had to outlast his neighbours.<\/p>\n He recalls a time in the 1990s when Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff was a five minute drive from three Blockbuster video stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n One Blockbuster manager once paid a visit, he recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe manager of one of them came in and said, \u2018We\u2019re going to put you out of business,\u2019\u201d Thompson laughs. \u201cI remember looking at him and thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t think you know what you\u2019re talking about.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Due to a myriad of reasons, including poor leadership and an inability to compete with streaming,<\/a> the worldwide video rental chain closed its more than 9,000 stores by 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ottawa\u2019s Blockbusters were \u201ctoo big\u201d and \u201cwithout a good selection,\u201d Thompson argues.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Netflix of today, that\u2019s what Blockbuster was. It\u2019s big, it\u2019s fun and it\u2019s empty.\u201d<\/p>\n Apart from his selection, Thompson believes Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff\u2019s community plays a big part in its success. He has known some of his customers for more than 30 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you know somebody and you like doing it, why switch it up too much?\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rylan Charron, a fourth-year civil engineering student at Carleton, can\u2019t remember his first visit to Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI may have even been as a baby, being taken in my parents\u2019 arms,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n Living a 10-minute walk away, Charron and his family would walk to the store about three times a month. He remembers his mom making casual conversation with the owner and his dad flipping through collections of DVDs before the family would come together and settle on a movie to rent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt would feel sort of like an activity,\u201d Charron says. \u201cMore than the way you go on Netflix and just pick out a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n Charron and his family stopped visiting as frequently just before the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 for \u201cno real well-defined reason\u201d \u2014 but he remembers re-visiting Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff with his girlfriend sometime last fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt brought back a lot of those feelings from when I was younger,\u201d Charron says. \u201cVery nostalgic, for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Thompson made sweet conversation with the handful of customers who streamed in on a Tuesday afternoon \u2014 chatting about their jobs and (of course) their movie opinions while handling transactions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can come in and talk, and I get to know you,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cI\u2019ve become almost a bartender, in that respect.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can never underestimate the power of a community who knows you already.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout history, films were dominantly watched in public spaces like movie theatres, Furstenau says. As in-home viewing became possible over the decades, film watching has slowly become more of a private experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aMoviesnStuff-7-scaled.jpg\")
Peter Thompson, owner of Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff, grew up managing the store owned by his parents before he purchased it about eight years ago. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026colour-1-1-scaled.jpg\")
Peter Thompson, owner of Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff, welcomes about 50 customers per day from behind his counter. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aMoviesnStuff-4-scaled.jpg\")
As owner of Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff with more than 12,000 titles available for rent, Peter Thompson provides his customers with his best film recommendations. He has known some of his patrons for more than three decades. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aMoviesnStuff-1-scaled.jpg\")
Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff owner Peter Thompson curates his 12,000 rental films and TV shows to include niche international films that aren\u2019t easily available online. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]
\nRallying a community<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aMoviesnStuff-2-scaled.jpg\")
Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff owner Peter Thompson provides his customers with his best film recommendations. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC08726-scaled.jpeg\")
Peter Thompson, owner of Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff, sorts through his collection of films and more. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aMoviesnStuff-3-scaled.jpg\")
Peter Thompson, owner of Movies \u2018n\u2019 Stuff, says community plays a large role in his business\u2019s success. However, it was his viable business plan that assured him that he could keep the store afloat. [Photo by Simon McKeown\/the Charlatan]