WHAT (WAS) TRENDING: THE HOTTEST VIDEO STORE PICKS OF 1996

There was something unbeatable about a summer night in 1996: the sun still hanging in the sky, the smell of sunscreen lingering, and the promise of a fresh VHS rental waiting to be cracked open. A trip to Hollywood Video wasn’t just an errand: it was the main event! And the tapes everyone was reaching for that summer? Absolute icons of the mid-’90s. 

If you wanted action (and most people did), Die Hard with a Vengeance was in constant rotation. Bruce Willis back in full force, riddles, explosions, New York chaos, it was the kind of movie you watched once and immediately rewound to revisit your favorite scenes. Right alongside it was Bad Boys, pairing Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in a loud, fast, and funny ride that felt tailor-made for a group hang. 

But summer rentals weren’t all about adrenaline. Clueless was everywhere. Quoted endlessly, rewatched obsessively, and somehow getting better every time, it became a sleepover staple and a cultural reset all at once. On the slightly weirder (but equally beloved) end of the spectrum, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls brought Jim Carrey’s chaotic energy into living rooms, delivering the kind of comedy that felt even funnier when watched with friends. 

Then there were the big, can’t-miss crowd-pleasers, like Apollo 13 delivered tension, heart, and that unforgettable “Houston, we have a problem” moment that somehow hit just as hard at home. 

What made that summer feel different was the pace. You waited for these movies. You planned around them. You grabbed snacks, argued over picks, and committed; because once you left the store, that was your night. No switching, no scrolling, no backups. 

Looking back, the summer of ’96 wasn’t defined by what was new in theaters: it was defined by what finally made it to VHS. And in a way, that made it better. Because when those tapes hit the shelves at Hollywood Video, they weren’t just movies anymore – they were events, ready to be replayed, rewound, and remembered.