Big Sky Cinema in Dillon has permanently closed after decades of operation, with the property sold to a Missoula-based Taco Bell franchisee. The transaction replaces one of Beaverhead County’s last remaining evening entertainment options with a restaurant that closes at midnight, which in Dillon terms is practically a nightclub.

“It’s the end of an era,” said longtime patron Gary Jessup, 71. “We used to take the kids there on Fridays. Then we took the grandkids. Now there’s nowhere to take anybody, unless they want a Crunchwrap.”

The cinema had served the Dillon community since 1978, showing first-run films approximately three to six weeks after they opened in Bozeman or Missoula. Residents said the delay was part of the charm. “You’d hear about a movie, forget about it, then it would show up here and you’d think, oh right, that exists,” said Jessup.

Former cinema employee Trish Dolan, 34, said the theater’s final showing was a Tuesday matinee of a film she could not remember the title of. “There were maybe eight people there,” she said. “One of them was asleep. It felt appropriate.”

The Taco Bell franchise is expected to open in early 2027 following renovations. Franchisee Mark Gentry said the location’s existing seating infrastructure was “a bonus” but that the screen would be removed. “Though we’re keeping the popcorn machine for now,” he said. “People asked.”

Dillon Mayor Janet Cobb said the closure reflects broader economic pressures facing small-town Montana. “We’re competing with streaming, with Bozeman, with the basic human desire to not drive forty-five minutes to watch a movie in a building that’s fifty degrees inside,” she said.

Cobb noted that Dillon still has a bowling alley, three bars, and the university library, which she described as “technically open to the public.”

Jessup said he would likely try the Taco Bell when it opens. “I’m not going to drive to Butte for a movie,” he said. “I’ll eat a chalupa and remember when this town had dreams.”