DILLON — Big Sky Cinema in Dillon has closed its doors, ending decades of Hollywood films, midnight showings, and community gatherings in Beaverhead County.
The theater, which opened in the 1970s, was among the first free-standing twin cinemas built in the country.
"This was the very first free-standing twin cinema built. Soon after that, about 2,000 were built nationwide," former Big Sky Cinema manager Stan Smith said.
Over the years, the theater hosted more than just movies. Smith, who recently retired after 40 years as a manager at the cinema, said the space was also used for church services, school functions, and weddings.
"I'm an ordained minister, so I've done about two dozen weddings here," Smith said.
The theater outlasted video stores, cable television, satellite TV, the internet, and even the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Over the 40 years I was here, we survived the onset of video stores – we had six at one time – Direct TV, cable TV, the internet, all those big changes," Smith said.
WATCH: Dillon's Big Sky Cinema closes its doors, ending decades of movies in southwest Montana
Ultimately, the value of the property itself led the owners of Polson Theaters Inc., Becky and Gary DuPuis, to close.
"I would like to think that at some point somebody, whether it's us or some other theater company... will say, 'Hey! We can buy a piece of property that's not...doesn't have the value that this piece of property has.' Build a movie theater and bring movies back to Dillon," Becky DuPuis said.
According to a deed filed in Beaverhead County on April 30, the property now belongs to MTB Dillon, a Missoula-based company that operates Taco Bell restaurants across Montana. MTB Dillon could not be reached for comment about plans for the property.
For customers like Aliyah Riener, who came to watch one final film on closing night, the loss goes beyond the big screen.
"We're all really sad that the movie theater is closing. I am going to miss the popcorn...and people are going to lose their jobs over this, which is really sad," Riener said.
Riener said the theater filled a gap for young people in the community.
"Dillon doesn't have a lot of activities, especially for young people, like my age, like teenagers, to go and do. So, having a movie theater here was really one of the ways we could engage meaningfully with the community. You get in there, and you're all there to go and watch a movie, and it's a sense of community, I guess," Riener said.
Smith echoed that sentiment.
"It's art, and it connects Dillon to the rest of the state and the...the country," Smith said.
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