I keep seeing Redbox mentioned. Financially, it's a rational decision to split consumption between Netflix and Redbox. But I believe that most of the appeal in Netflix is the convenience of getting the movies at home, without having to go outside. It's 87F here in NY right now -- do I REALLY want to leave my AC'ed room and go get a movie? Probably not. Disclosure: I'm a VERY early adopter of Netflix streaming, first through the browser and then through a bluray player I purchased 3 years ago.