The final credits in the Campus Cinemas story rolled on all four screens Sunday, as the doors to the closest-to-campus movie theater were closed.

“The Family Man” ended the theater’s two-decade run at 1015 Blackhawk Road. But unlike that film, there’s no redemption for the GKC-owned theater. Brian Jeffries, GKC executive vice president of film and marketing, said the closing partly can be attributed to a poorly-attended holiday movie season, a crucial time for movie theaters and the months when students were away from campus.

“The problem was that it was worth more closed than to stay open,” he said.

Jeffries said the building and large parking lot soon will be up for sale, ending the theater’s efforts to appeal to nearby college students. A few of those students preferred seeing “Snatch” over Super Bowl Sunday, and were surprised at the news of the closing.

“This place makes you feel like home, a real home atmosphere,” senior communication major Robert LeMaire said.

The closing may affect future GKC activity in DeKalb. Market Square Cinemas, located at 2160 Sycamore Road and also owned by GKC, could receive an addition of two to four screens as early as 2002, Jeffries said.

The decision to close Campus Cinemas was made three weeks ago after several talks about the theater’s effectiveness. Jeffries theorized that 10 screens work best for the area, but at busy times, such as during the summer and holiday seasons, 12 to 14 is optimum.

Although both theaters had a mix of movies, Campus Cinemas tended to lean toward the college-aimed movies, such as 1999’s “Dogma.” The Kevin Smith-directed movie brought a handful of protesters outside Campus Cinemas in the bitter cold, objecting to the perceived Catholic bashing.

Within the past year, promotions included bringing in cult classics like “Trainspotting” and “Evil Dead 2.” Jeffries said with theater manager Jeff Kerman moving over to Market Square, he hopes many of those students find something to like.

“Early in the (school) year, we tried film festivals, and they will be traveling over to Market Square,” Kerman said.

Kerman said current ideas include an animation festival and a Hong Kong movie festival. But Kerman could not comment on the closing because of company policy.

At the time of the closing, 13 movies were playing in DeKalb, with the most likely scenario affording the city 10 different movies starting today.

“In many ways, it is a credit to DeKalb,” he said. “The success of Market Square made it difficult to have Campus Cinemas be successful.”

But according to digitalcity.com, a gateway for local information throughout the United States, the more popular of the two theaters met the ax. In a handful of customer reviews, Campus Cinemas garnered a 4.5-star ranking and Market Square Cinemas received only 1.5 stars.

“It’s easy to say put in better movies, but it didn’t make good business sense to put a movie there when it would make half of what it would at the other theater,” Jeffries said.

The theater is the third to close in DeKalb in the past two years. Second-run theaters Carrols Theater and Hollywood Connection both closed because of poor attendance.

Jeffries acknowledged a connection between last week’s announcement by Loews Cineplex to close 112 theaters in the Midwest and the decision to close the older Campus Cinemas. Loews announced the closing of nearly all its older theaters, citing the consumer’s demand for modern amenities like double concession stands and Dolby Digital sound.

“It’s a good time to have movie theaters, but it’s not a good time to have old movie theaters,” Jeffries said.