Plitt Theatres

Plitt Theatres

Former type	Private
Industry	Entertainment (movie theatres)
Fate	Merged with Cineplex Odeon Corporation
Founded	1903
Defunct	1985
Headquarters	New York, New York
Key people	Adolph Zukor, founder

Plitt Theatres was one of the largest chain of cinemas in the United States.

The theater chain was divested from Paramount Pictures as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948).

The company was formed by Paramount from Balaban and Katz and other properties and headed by Leonard Goldenson. Goldenson went on to split UPT from Paramount Pictures, and to form the ABC-TV network (see Chronology below).

UPT is no relation to the later television network which was known as the United Paramount Network, which was named for a consortium made up of Paramount Pictures/Viacom and television station group United Television.

Chronology

• 1949: United Paramount Theatres was formed. The company was divested from Paramount on December 31, 1949.
• 1953: The chain merged with the American Broadcasting Company. The merged company was named American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (but did not affect the name of the radio or TV networks).
• 1965: American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres was renamed American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., with the theater chain renamed ABC Theatres.
• 1974: The Midwestern (ABC Great States) movie theaters were sold to one of its managers, Henry Plitt, and the company was renamed Plitt Theatres. Coincidentally, the same year, Paramount sold its record label division, the Famous Music Group, to ABC (MCA Records later bought out ABC's record division in 1979; the ABC Records catalog is now owned by Universal Music Group).
• 1978: The Southern (ABC Southern) movie theaters were sold to Plitt.
• 1985: Plitt Theaters was sold to Cineplex Odeon Corporation.