Kurume Shochiku Theaters 1-2-3

Two Shochiku theaters named the Kurume Shochiku and Kurume Piccadilly both opened their doors in August 1981. A second Piccadilly auditorium opened in December 1988 bringing the total to three screens. Screen 1 originally housed 412 seats, while Screens 2 and 3 both housed 324 and 100 seats, which brought the total to 836 seats. The Shochiku theaters were also located very close to two other theaters, one was called the Kurume Central located in the basement of Kurume Central Kaikan which had been operating since 1966, also later operated with three screens, and the other being the Kurume Scalaza, also a triple theater but later downgraded to twin.

The nearby three-screen Central closed on January 17, 1997 by the Yuraku Shoji chain, and the nearby Scalaza was downgraded to a twin after its third screen was converted into a restaurant. The Shochiku remained operating while under the management of the Nishinippon Shochiku Kogyo. The Central would then reopen later at a different location in a six-story building with a capacity of 680 seats, and continued to operate until the final week of January 2005 when it was renovated and relaunched under the name “Ichibangai Central” on March 19, 2005, but closed in November of that same year after failed business.

Meanwhile, the Shochiku Piccadilly Theaters didn’t last long after the original Central closed, and both the Shochiku and Piccadilly Theaters closed for the final time on August 31, 1997 after its last operator, Nishinippon Shochiku Kogyo, discontinued its management.

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