Discount Cinema 8
3407 Wells Branch Parkway,
Austin,
TX
78728
3407 Wells Branch Parkway,
Austin,
TX
78728
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cinemark, General Cinema Corp.
Previous Names: Wells Branch 8, Dollar Cinema 8
Nearby Theaters
The Wells Branch 8 opened as a first-run theater November 17, 1989 and became a second-run Dollar Cinema 8, operated by Cinemark from August 9, 1991. It had almost Art Deco appointments on the inside and lots of video games in the halls. Movies were only $1.50 and the screens were very large. One theater had what looked like home made wooden armrests, giving it a lodge like feel.
Towards the end, tickets were sold at the concession booth but it would have been hard to tell it was closing otherwise. The old shopping center itself was it’s demise, the main grocery store had been closed for a while, leaving Discount as the main anchor. After the other big draw, a video arcade next door closed, it spelled the end for Discount.
The theater was torn down in October 2004 and is being replaced by a Walgreens.
Contributed by
Nick Littlejohn
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The Discount Cinema was actually doing decent business when it closed. Cinemark USA wanted to renew the lease for the theater, but the property owner had already made the long-term decision to place a Walgreen’s on the site instead. Last day of operation: 9-6-04. Theater building torn down October 2004.
Theater was originally opened by General Cinema as the “Wells Branch 8” in 1989. General Cinema shut it down April 1991. Cinemark USA reopened it August 1991 as “Dollar Cinema” — later changing the name to “Discount Cinema”.
Up-date on details:
Style: U-8 Plex General Cinema
Total seats: 1,882
Architect: Hodges & Associates
Structural Engineer: McCasland & Associates
Mark Brusniak
Discount Cinema Theater Manager
1998-2004
hey mark i used to be the assistant manager there in austin at the showplace 6 from 1992-1995. i am currently looking for employment got any leads for me.
Barry Lee
If it’s a record, it’s not by much. Loews opened a 20-screen all-stadium seating megaplex in the Pennsylvania town of North Versailles in October of 1999, only to see it get crushed by the competition another megaplex provided within a few miles down the road, and proceeded to shut it down in February of ‘01 as part of their then-bankruptcy proceedings. (The seats from that still-shuttered venue are used to this day in the Loews Theatre on 34th Street in midtown Manhattan.)
I think what ‘Manwithnoname’ is referring to is the two-year run from the time when General Cinemas opened the then-Wells Branch 8 in 1989 until the time they closed it in April of ‘91.
I remember this was closed long before gcc went into bankruptcy because get this you see GCC when they were scouting for locations cinemark decided to build movies12 just about at the most 8 miles at the most from the the far side of well branch along ih35 well gcc just took the first location they could get in wells branch because at that time alot of chains feared cinemark because of the way they were expanding and gcc thought by cinemark building on the out skirts of austin they it was just a prelewed to them moving into the austin market itself and gcc wanted to keep the market so they paid an unbelivable amount to lease the wells branch 8 so much infact that
even with all the hype gcc tryed to generate for the grand opening it was never able to bring in the amount of customers inorder to book big profile films as a result ever since its grand opening it was never able to generate revenue to pay for the high costly lease everymonth and to add insult to injury gcc faced legal bills over the Barton creek 5 issue so finally gcc just closed the wellbranch after negocating to get out of its lease. the original lease was for i was told for a 25 year period thats how disperate gcc was to upshow cinemark even though clearly after plans were announced about the 8 screen that it would not beable to compete with a 12 screen.
The last couple of years this theater was open they showed a lot of Bollywood films, the first in Austin to do so I think. When the Walgreens went in they completely demolished the theater and did not use any part of the old building.
I worked here the first quarter of 1996, General Cinema had finally learned to build more colorful theatres. I worked for Cinemark and during that time John Travolta came to see the latest Bond movie while in Austin filming.
This opened on November 17th, 1989 as the General Cinema Wells Branch 8. Ad in photo section.
Reopened as Dollar Cinemas by Cinemark on August 9th, 1991. Another ad in the photo section.