Blockbuster (OTC:BLOAQ.PK) Shuttering Another 182 Stores by End of First Quarter

Blockbuster (OTC:BLOAQ.PK) announced it'll be closing 182 stores by the end of the first quarter of 2011, as it prepared to emerge from bankruptcy.

By the first of the year, 72 of the stores will be closed, with another 110 scheduled fo closure by the end of the quarter, according to documents filed by Blockbuster in bankruptcy court.

When Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September, they had about 2,900 stores in the U.S. Before that they had closed approximately 1,000 stores.

Blockbuster also said they're renegotiating leases with a large number of landlords in order to lower costs. In the commercial real estate environment we're now in, they could actually have the upper hand in many store locations.

It's unknown how many stores Blockbuster will end up keeping in the company fold when they emerge from bankruptcy, but the company said they're have far fewer but more profitable stores when they do.