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Dad builds autistic son a Blockbuster after store closes

A Texas family opened up their own miniature movie rental store with one specific customer in mind: their autistic son.

Twitter user @Javiii_Zuniga posted these photos showing the touching moment his parents unveiled a customised ‘Blockbuster’ video display rack for his 20-year-old brother with autism.

“My autistic brother was sad that Blockbuster was closing down, so my parents made a mini one at home for him!,” he wrote on the Twitter.

The home-made relic of a bygone era features many of the young man's favourite titles. Photo: Twitter/@Javiii_Zuniga
The home-made relic of a bygone era features many of the young man's favourite titles. Photo: Twitter/@Javiii_Zuniga

Complete with its very own Blockbuster logo, the rack features a wide selection of the 20-year-old’s favourite rental flicks — and it’s located conveniently at his home in Mission, Texas.

Although it may be hard to believe, there are actually some places where Blockbuster video stores are still open to the public.

As CBC News reports, at one point the video rental giant had an impressive 9,000 retail stores worldwide, but after filing for bankruptcy in 2010, it was forced to close down nearly all of its locations by 2013.

Tens of thousands of Twitter users shared his joy, with close to 100,000 people retweeting the pictures with days. Photo: Twitter/@Javiii_Zuniga
Tens of thousands of Twitter users shared his joy, with close to 100,000 people retweeting the pictures with days. Photo: Twitter/@Javiii_Zuniga

Now only a handful of Blockbuster stores run by franchise owners still remain open to the public in the US, with nine in Alaska and three in Texas.

That is until the Blockbuster in Mission, Texas, finally closed down for good on April 23, prompting the creation of this special at-home recreation.

In Australia, 27 franchises remain open to the public after the giant chain once boasted tens of thousands of employees worldwide.

Only 12 full scale Blockbuster stores remain the young man's native US. In Australia, 27 franchises remain. Photo: Twitter/@Javiii_Zuniga
Only 12 full scale Blockbuster stores remain the young man's native US. In Australia, 27 franchises remain. Photo: Twitter/@Javiii_Zuniga

Speaking to Fox 31 Denver, @Javiii_Zuniga explained that his brother is non-verbal, but he began enthusiastically smiling and clapping once he saw his very own Blockbuster rental rack.

Twitter users were also clearly happy to see the moving moment unfold as well. Since being posted to Twitter on April 23, the now-viral tweet has been liked more than 121,000 times and retweeted 31,000 times.

The DIY Blockbuster store also inspired people to express how thoughtful they thought the parents were. Now their son can continue enjoying his favourite movies for years to come.