1988-2017

Cinemark Movies 8, an iconic Provo institution that served as a social hub for many a student throughout the past three decades, has been kind enough to offer up word about its plan to die in 2017.

It was (well, technically still is) 29.

Movies 8 was born in 1988 in Provo, setting up shop in the northwest corner of the former Plum Tree Plaza. While many businesses came and went in the plaza during the next 29 years, Movies 8 became synonymous with Provo, and more specifically, the city’s robust dating culture.

Whereas most college towns are in some way recognized for the social life they provide by way of bars, clubs and other assorted attractions to the young adult set, Provo became known for an eight-theater movie house offering discount, second-run movies that appealed to the Brigham Young University student body and more.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a BYU, Utah Valley University or Utah County high school student from the past three decades who doesn’t have a dating story that somehow involves Movies 8. With bargain-basement prices of between $1 and $2 — depending on the year and the day of the week — it provided a cheap option to friends hanging out on a Friday night, young couples enjoying frugal first dates and newlyweds fortunate to rub a few leftover quarters together after finishing the laundry.

For most of its life, Movies 8 embraced its position in the Provo entertainment landscape, avoiding the fate of other discount movie houses and their sticky floors, broken seats and stale popcorn. Periodic upgrades kept the theaters competing with more modern complexes at nearby malls, allowing it to continue to hold its own in an era of rapid technological innovation.

However, the once-viable alternative to $5-per-night video store rentals watched its customer base begin to diminish in recent years with the popularity of services like Netflix that allowed movie fans a plethora of cheap entertainment options at their fingertips, often without having to leave the comfort of their own homes.

Movies 8 is survived by Olive Garden, Cafe Zupas, JCW’s and Cafe Rio, all of which will continue to operate as part of a new mixed-use development known as The Mix.

The theaters are preceded in death by ShopKo, Taco Time, The Training Table, numerous discount grocery stores, several strip mall Johnny Come Latelys and Leatherby’s Family Creamery (speaking of once-proud Provo date night institutions).

In lieu of flowers, the theater operators hope you’ll use the time between now and an official final operating day to ask your favorite guy or gal on a date, pull a crisp 20 from the ATM, buy two tickets, a large popcorn, Milk Duds and a soda to share, pocket the change, and stop in for one last iconic movie-watching experience.