Liberty Center has filed a breach-of-lease complaint against CB Theater Experience, the day-to-day operator of former anchor tenant CMX Cinemas, claiming an unpaid balance exceeding $150,000 in rent and utilities. CMX had been a fixture at the Liberty Township shopping and entertainment complex for more than 12 years before the two sides parted ways at the start of this year.
The lawsuit, filed in Butler County Court of Common Pleas, alleges that CB Theater Experience breached the terms of a revised lease agreement by failing to remit two months of rent and one month of utilities, according to WKRC, which first reported the filing. Reporter Rowan Hetzer notes that CMX Cinemas and Liberty Center had already worked out a reworked lease before the relationship ultimately ended in court with what the station described as a negotiated exit.
The lawsuit caps a saga that stretches back well before CMX ever left Liberty Township. CMX's parent company, Cinemex Holdings USA, along with subsidiaries CMX Cinemas LLC and CB Theater Experience LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under Subchapter V on June 30, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to ElevenFlo. That filing marked the second bankruptcy for the chain, which had previously filed for Chapter 11 in April 2020 during the pandemic-era theater shutdowns and emerged later that year with modified lease terms across 41 upscale dine-in locations, per FindLaw.
A Federal Settlement Preceded The State Lawsuit
Court records reviewed by ElevenFlo show that Liberty Center LLC actually reached a court-approved lease settlement with CMX in November 2025, during the Florida bankruptcy proceedings, which prompted Liberty Center to withdraw its bankruptcy proof of claim before the court confirmed CMX's reorganization plan on November 17, 2025. That plan took effect December 1, 2025, roughly a month before CMX exited Liberty Center entirely. The new Butler County complaint over unpaid rent and utilities represents a local tail-end dispute stemming from CMX's final months at the property, rather than a fresh conflict.
CB Theater Experience is a subsidiary of Cinemex Holdings USA, which is itself a subsidiary of Mexican cinema operator Cinemex. ElevenFlo reports that Cinemex is ultimately controlled by mining conglomerate Grupo México and billionaire Germán Larrea, with the parent company operating hundreds of cinema sites globally.
New Operator Already Running The Renovated Theater
CMX vacated the 15-screen space on January 3, 2026, and Missouri-based B&B Theatres immediately assumed operations, renaming the venue B&B Theatres Liberty Township 15, according to Cinema Treasures. The fifth-largest theater chain in the country welcomed existing local theater staff to maintain operational continuity during the transition, per a report from iHeartRadio.
B&B Theatres has since committed $7 million to renovate the multiplex, introducing regional-first features including a 270-degree ScreenX screen, a multi-sensory 4DX motion theater, a kid-focused screenPLAY! auditorium, and D-BOX haptic seating under a June 2026 agreement, the iHeartRadio report states. The theater's history at Liberty Center dates back to the complex's November 2015 opening, when Cobb Theatres launched a dual-concept venue featuring a 9-screen luxury theater and a 6-screen adult CinéBistro, before CMX Cinemas acquired and rebranded the location in October 2017, according to Cinema Treasures.
Broader Momentum At The 64-Acre Complex
The lawsuit lands amid a wave of investment at Liberty Center, which sits at the junction of Interstate 75 and Ohio State Route 129 in Liberty Township. Developed at a cost of nearly $350 million on 64 acres, the complex spans more than 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use space, according to REBusinessOnline.
Liberty Center is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, with real estate services firm Centennial, powered by Lincoln, serving as its asset manager overseeing strategic direction for the property. In August 2026, the ownership group announced a campus-wide $20 million renovation project that includes new approvals for a full-service hotel and 300 apartment units, a 10-year lease extension and remodel of the House of Sport store by Dick's Sporting Goods, and new event spaces called Sabin Hall and Unity Hall, per the same REBusinessOnline report.
That expansion push follows Hoodline's earlier coverage of a stalled $76 million apartment plan at the site, as well as Onyx+East's groundbreaking on a $64 million residential community nearby. Even as the state court dispute over back rent and utilities plays out, the anchor theater space at Liberty Center is already up and running under new ownership, with significant private capital already invested in its future.
