On March 27, 1948 the Santikos Mission 4 Drive-In opened in San Antonio, Texas. Although it started as one of less than 100 drive-in theaters in Texas, It would eventually grow to having a capacity of 2000 cars and four screens.

In the 1990's, the Santikos Mission 4 Drive-In was owned by Regal Cinemas. In February 2001, it was purchased by Cinemark, saving the theatre from closing. By May 2001 the theatre had been bought by Santikos Theatres. The theatre remained open for their normal season March through November.

In March of 2007, Santikos Theatres announced that the Santikos Mission 4 Drive-In will not open for its 2007 season. This was due to vandalism that occured in January while the theatre was closed. All four projectors and their FM sound system and concessions stand were vandalized incurring damages around $500,000.

Unable to compensate for the amount of damage done, the theatre remained closed until August 24, 2007. It then reopened on a trial basis but only had two screens up and running and limited items available from the concessions stand due to not having finished repairing all the damage.

By May 2009 the city had bought the 26 acre site that once was home to the Santikos Mission 4 Drive-In with plans of converting the space into a public library and other commercial developments. Immediately parts of the theatre were torn down however the marquee and the main screen will remain. In April 2011 the screen was restored.