Plitt Theatres
| Private subsidiary | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founders | Adolph Zukor |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
| Services | Movie exhibition |
| Revenue | $168 million (1984) |
| $11 million (1984) |
Plitt Theatres was a major movie theater chain in the United States and went under a number of names, Publix Theaters Corporation, Paramount Publix Corporation, United Paramount Theatres, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres and ABC Theatres and operated a number of theater circuits under various names.
The chain was originally the theater division of Paramount Pictures, incorporating a number of theater circuits acquired by Paramount, notably Balaban and Katz. Paramount was required to divest the theater chain as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948).
The Publix Theaters Corporation was found in 1925 by the merger of the Balaban and Katz chain with Famous Players-Lasky Corporation theater chain. By 1930, the company owned 1,210 theaters in the US and Canada when the company changed its name to Paramount Publix Corporation. In early February 1933, Paramount-Publix was placed in equity receivership, under receivers Adolph Zukor and Charles D. Hilles, followed by voluntary bankruptcy in March. On November 21, 1934, the three major security holders committees submitted a plan for Paramount Publix to be combined with Paramount Famous-Players Lasky into a new corporation. A reorganization plan for Paramount Publix, the first large corporation to attempt reorganization under the then new bankruptcy, was approved by Bankruptcy Judge Alfred C. Coxe in April 1935 to end proceeding.
On December 31, 1949, the theater business was spun off into an independent company called United Paramount Theatres, headed by Leonard Goldenson. In 1953, UPT merged with the American Broadcasting Company, providing ABC's television network with a source of cash flow that enabled it to survive and eventually become competitive.
The merged company was named American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT). No general theater division similar to the ABC division was set up as AB-PT corporate would handle overall theater planning and development. Having only full ownership of 449 theaters at the time of the consent agreement and all joint ownership interest were to be ended. By March 1957, AB-PT's 5 theater circuits had sold off more theaters than ordered. In June, AB-PT decided to sell an additional 90 locations due to decline revenue.
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