When the 49’er Drive-In movie theater first opened in 1956, it was the 1956 black and white classic “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” that was one of the top-selling tickets of the season.

Today, Godzilla is still towering on the outdoor sky-high screen at the 49’er Drive-In but now, he is in color with digital definition for the 2019 remake “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.”

“Science fiction and scary films are always associated with drive-in theaters, and yes, they do well,” said Steve Cotton, who has owned the 49’er Drive-In with his wife Phyllis and older brother Mike Cotton for 20 years.

“But today, our biggest business comes from the family movies like the latest ‘Shrek’ or ‘Toy Story’ film.”

Steve and Phyllis have a shared love for their family film business, which is why nearly 10 years ago, the couple wed outside in front of the outdoor screen at their drive-in.

When the Cotton Brothers purchased the 49’er Drive-In, which takes its name from its original Indiana 49 address, there were 862 drive-in movie theaters in operation in the U.S. Today, two decades later, according to www.driveinmovie.com, only 335 are still in business. In their heyday in the late 1950s, there were 4,000 drive-ins.

The Cotton Brothers became the third owners of the property after they purchased it from Bruce and Sandy Shinabarger in 1999. The Shinabargers purchased the drive-in in 1985 from the original owner George Shauer, a prominent Valparaiso businessman, who also owned and operated the two downtown Valparaiso movie theaters, The Lake Theater and The Premier Theater, both now long-gone. Bruce Shinabarger’s father Roy worked as one of the original projectionists for Shauer after he built the 49’er Drive-In.

The primary competitor to the 49’er Drive-In was always Y & W Drive-In in Merrillville. During the decades, it expanded to eventually offer three screens, with the largest lot able to accommodate 940 cars and the two smaller screen lots able to hold 200 and 300 cars, respectively. The Y&W Drive-in closed in 1997.

Now, the next two nearest drive-in theaters in Indiana are 45 minutes away in Plymouth and Knox.

“I remember seeing some movies at the 49’er while growing up in Hobart,” Steve Cotton said.

“But primarily, our family would go to the Y&W. It’s not an easy business to run a drive-in. Even though it’s seasonal, you are working extra hard six months a year, since we are only open April to October. All of your money for the year has to be made during those 110 days. I’m happy and blessed to love doing what I do.”

Steve said it’s unusual today for “two families to be able to support themselves just operating a drive-in movie theater with only one screen.

“Today, many drive-in theaters have two or three screens and still, the owners have second jobs to make a living,” Steve said.

The 49’er Drive-In can hold up to 720 cars, and in the past decade, has had major upgrades and renovations such as a $125,000 new screen and $100,000 for a new digital projector.

Gone are the days of the old metal box speakers wired to poles and designed to hang on car windows.

“When we first purchased the drive-in, we still had the metal box speakers for the first few years but the problem became that they were becoming obsolete and you couldn’t find parts to replace components when they needed repairs,” Steve said.

“Today, like most drive-ins, we have a radio station frequency for patrons to listen to the movie with their own vehicle sound system, which sounds much better for enjoying the film.”

The 49’er Drive-In has 35 employees working a range of duties from parking and box office to concessions.

“We are particularly proud of our concession area,” Steve said.

“Many people fail to realize that it’s the concession stand which allows us to make a profit. Most of the ticket and entrance fee, around 70 percent, goes right to the film distributor who requires us to report an accurate account of our nightly attendance numbers.”

Dubbed as The 49’er Diner, Steve and wife Phyllis say they keep all of the food moderately priced at their concession stand and offer a wide variety of custom pizzas, hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, pork cutlet sandwiches, 16 types of candy and a dozen ice cream flavors.

As for all-time drive-in theater favorite film record breakers, Steve and Phyllis said prior to their ownership of the outdoor theater, movies like “Star Wars,” “Jaws,” “Titanic” and “Twister” broke all attendance records.

“Today, it’s less about the big epic films and more about the family experience that makes drive-in theaters still such a treasured part of Americana,” Phyllis said.

“The kids still come in their pajamas when they pull up in the cars with their parents, since the movies don’t even get started until it’s about the kids’ bedtime. And sometimes, we notice the parents are wearing their pajamas too.”

Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.