Have you ever been to one of those theaters where you and a handful of other people are the only ones watching the movie?

Well, with the exception of one movie, that’s been the normal scene during Campus Activities Board’s film series this year.

Every year, CAB purchases eight to 10 movies to show the NIU community every Thursday and Sunday.

Traditionally, the films have not attracted many students despite the fact they are free showings. However, there are one or two per year that bring in hundreds.

“This year, we showed ‘Shrek’ during parents’ weekend,” CAB Films Director Jamie Drayton said. “We had about 200 people for that.”

This year’s previous showings, including “The Mummy Returns” and “Devil’s Advocate,” brought in, on average, five to 15 people, she added.

The meager attendance can be attributed to a lack of interest.

“If I really wanted to watch a movie, I would turn on HBO or rent it,” junior business major Jeff Wilson said.

There have been students who are willing to go, but have prior engagements.

“I have to work and go to school, so I don’t have the time to go,” junior OMIS major Eric Barth said. “I do plan on going when I have the chance, though.”

Members from the CAB films committee are in charge of selecting the movies.

“We try to get a variety of films so we can attract the largest amount of people,” Drayton said.

The selected movies come from Swank Motion Pictures in a variety of formats. Normally, the films come on 16-millimeter reels or on VHS tapes.

CAB Films is allocated $16,234 from the CAB budget, said James Hurley, CAB vice president of finance and former CAB films director. This money is used to reserve a space to play the movies and to purchase and play the films.

The price of the films can get expensive, though.

“Depending on the recency and type of the movie, the price can get up to $900,” Drayton said.

There is one film remaining this semester, “Happy Gilmore.” It will premiere Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. in the Holmes Student Center’s Carl Sandburg Auditorium