Blockbuster
Be kind. Rewind. Go bankrupt.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Turned down Netflix for $50 million and partnered with Enron on streaming.
Blockbuster's business was charging you for forgetting. In 2000 it turned down a chance to buy Netflix for $50 million. That same year it picked a partner for video on demand, and the partner was Enron. At its 2004 peak it ran 9,094 stores. In 2005 it ended late fees, then charged people the full price of the movie after eight days. More than 40 states sued. In 2007 the head of Netflix came back and suggested buying its online business. Imagine being pitied by the thing that is killing you. It filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Dish bought the corpse for $320 million. One store survives in Bend, Oregon, as a museum to being wrong.