We already have a detailed article on the movie theatres in Kingston but what if you don’t want to go to the movies? What if you just want to stay at home and rent some movies?
Kingston used to have 3 Blockbuster videos in prime locations, but unfortunately all 3 have closed down. Thankfully, Kingston still has a solid selection of places to rent movies at. Whether you’re looking for DVDs or Blu-Rays, there’s always a good selection around Kingston.
On this page we’re going to cover where you can go to rent movies in Kingston, Ontario:
Rent Movies in Kingston, Ontario:
Classic Video: It’s worth heading down to Classic Video at 40 Clarence Street just to see how they do it – despite not having much space, year after year they find a way to store all of the newest movies to hit the shelves while preserving the classics. It’s been fascinating watching Classic Video grow over the years, and it truly is the best resource for renting moves in Kingston.
Along with all the new movies, Classic has an incredible selection of TV shows on DVD. They also have a wide selection of foreign movies, british movies, british TV shows – and in our experience if they don’t have it and you want it – they’ll get it!
Our #1 choice for renting movies in Kingston. Parking can be a bit tricky outside the store – best to park a block away up Clarence and walk down. But it’s well worth it. [(Website)
Jumbo Video – Princess St: Kingston has two Jumbo Videos(Amherstview also has one), with this one being located at 1032 Princess St, where the old Kingston Centre was and right beside Panda Garden. They have a solid selection of movies, and of course some traditions stay alive – you can walk in and grab yourself some free popcorn at any time!
Jumbo Video also offers all the latest video games. Unfortunately the selection quantity wise is weak – they are regularly getting rid of the older games to stock the newer games. But it’s still a good selection if you want some of the latest releases.
Jumbo Video – Gardiners Town Centre: This Jumbo video is located at 478 Gardiners Road. You just head down Bath Road and then take a left or a right, depending on which way you’re going. It’s located in the same plaza as Metro, Tim Hortons, XS Cargo and Lee Garden Chinese Buffet.
If it’s a close location for you, then like all Jumbo videos you’ll appreciate their Movies Nonstop Program. For just $9.99 per month, you can rent unlimited movies at Jumbo. You can only have 3 at a time and this does NOT include new releases. However they do have a solid section of movies that are not classed as new releases to keep you busy.
Movie Experts: Movie Experts is a store located at 506 Days Road. It can be a little bit tricky to find as it’s in the plaza and you generally need to be on Days Road to see it. But head out on Bath Road and turn onto Days Road and it’s there.
Movie Experts always get the new movies in. They also rent out video games, although please note that they do not get any new video games in so it is an older section for systems like the XBox 360. (Website)
Your Local Library: We’re not going to list all the libraries here in Kingston – but be sure to check out your local library for a great option for renting movies.
The biggest selection of movies from the library is probably Central library located at 130 Johnson Street. However don’t worry if you don’t live downtown – you can reserve movies and have them delivered to your local location. We recommend registering at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library website(link below) and then you can check their full catalogue of movies, and reserve what you want.
Movies at the library are free to rent, and they also have a kids section with a great selection of DVDs. The library has a solid back catalogue of movies and TV shows, and on top of that also gets in a lot of new releases with multiple copies of them. (Website)
Convenience Stores: While it’s not as common as the 90s, there are still a fair amount of convenience stores that will offer movie rentals in Kingston. They often have a wall dedicated to the movies, with a good selection of movies.
One such convenience store is Pat’s Grocery at the corner of Patrick St and John St. You can usually tell if the store has movies for rent as they’ll have large movie posters on the outside. At this time we’re not going to list every convenience store that offers movie rentals – we may do that in the future though.
RedBox: Redbox is a pretty neat system where there is a kiosk and you use it to select what movies you want and it distributes them like a vending machine. You return movies the same way. There is a good selection of movies both in Blu-Ray format and DVD format. You can also choose to reserve the movie online and then pick it up.
Here are the current Redbox locations with Kingston:
- FreshCo: 2237 Princess St.
- Loblaws: 1100 Princess St.
- Loblaws: 1048 Midland Avenue
- Petro Canada: 1188 Division St.
- Petro Canada: 459 Taylor-Kidd Boulevard
- Petro Canada: 765 Gardiners Road
- Petro Canada: 1586 Centennial Drive
- Shoppers Drug Mart: 1875 Bath Road
- Walmart: 1130 Midland Avenue
We should also note that Shoppers Drug Mart and Foodland in Amhersview, Shoppers Drug Mart in Gananoque, as well as Walmart and Petro-Canada in Napanee all have Redbox kiosk. You can also browse your local kiosk via their website. (Website)