THE SHROUDS revolves around a technological entrepreneur, Karsh, who is still grieving the loss of his wife, Becca. When several graves, including Becca's, are desecrated, Karsh embarks on a quest to find the perpetrator, which leads him down a nightmarish path of paranoia and grief when he engineers a technology that allows loved ones to watch their deceased family members decompose in specially designed burial shrouds. With Vincent Cassel (LA HAINE, BLACK SWAN), Diane Kruger (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), Guy Pearce (MEMENTO, THE BRUTALIST), and Sandrine Holt.

"'The Shrouds' is the saddest movie David Cronenberg has ever made. It’s steeped in grief; the loss of the filmmaker’s wife Carolyn in 2017 is the engine that drives every scene, and his decision to style and groom star Vincent Cassel as his own doppelgänger brings the point home all the more powerfully." (TIFF.net)

"Even when purporting to tell his own story, Cronenberg cannot help but leave us with something more expansively unsettling." (The New Yorker)

Thursday, May 29
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE SHROUDS (David Cronenberg, 2025 / 121 mins /  18A) Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.

"More human than human is our motto."

In 2007, director Ridley Scott released BLADE RUNNER: The Final Cut, the “definitive” edition (the work-print feature version), which has since been remastered for theatrical release. Catch it in all its director approved, futuretastic, digital sci-fi glory on the big screen - the way nature intended.

Harrison Ford stars in this fascinating, dark vision of the near future as a policeman who tracks engineered humans--a Blade Runner. In the not-so-distant year 2019, ex-detective Rick Deckard (Ford) is called out of retirement to hunt four genetically engineered humans who have come to earth. Designed to do difficult, hazardous work, the manufactured humans are stronger, faster and smarter than non-engineered humans. They feel no pain or remorse; they are almost indistinguishable from other humans ... and they are killing people. Now Deckard must stop them before they kill again. Based on the novel, "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick. Also starring Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah.

"A visually remarkable, achingly human sci-fi masterpiece." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"This is perhaps the only science-fiction film that can be called transcendental." (Entertainment Weekly)

"A masterpiece of dystopian science fiction on film." (Daily Telegraph)

Thursday, May 29
Doors 8:45 pm | Movie 9:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

BLADE RUNNER: The Final Cut (Ridley Scott, 1982 / 117 mins / 14 A) When ex-detective Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to track down and eliminate a team of humanoid androids that have escaped from an outer space mining colony and have taken refuge here on Earth. During his search for the fugitives, he discovers some disturbing secrets about the future plans of the androids' manufacturer, the Tyrell Corporation.

Join us at the Rio Theatre for a Double Creature Feature screening of one of our all-time favourite franchises! We’re going into deep space with Ridley Scott‘s iconic 1979 ALIEN (The Director’s Cut) followed by  James Cameron’s 1986 sequel, ALIENS.

After floating in space for 57 years, Lt. Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) shuttle is found by a deep space salvage team. Upon arriving at LV-426, the marines find only one survivor, a nine year old girl named Newt (Carrie Henn). But even these battle-hardened marines with all the latest weaponry are no match for the hundreds of aliens that have invaded the colony.

"Cameron is a master of machinery and weaponry, a technical wizard who replaces Scott's refinement with his own kind of muscularity... But with either film, you leave the theater drained, physically exhausted, well-rewarded for all your suffering." (Newsday)

"Delivering generously on the promise he demonstrated in The Terminator, Cameron has given us a seamless motion picture that transforms its not-for-all-tastes subject matter into the stuff of across-the-board appeal." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

With a special LIVE film introduction from Paul Reiser!

Friday, May 30
Doors 9:30 pm | Movie 10:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Why not make it a Double Creature Feature with Ridley Scott's original 1979, ALIEN: The Director's Cut, on May 17 for one sweet price HERE?!

Saturday, May 17
ALIEN (The Director’s Cut)
Doors 9:30 pm | Movie 10:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Single film tickets available at www.riotheatretickets.ca

ALIENS (James Cameron | 1986 | 137 mins | 18A) Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.

"Hold her to you, for she is part of you, as we all are part of each other."

From the genius minds of directors Jim Henson and Frank Oz comes one of the most popular puppet-filled fantasy films ever, not to mention one of our most requested titles - THE DARK CRYSTAL. Though the film received a very lukewarm response upon its release, THE DARK CRYSTAL has grown into its cult-status among movie-lovers of all ages. Remarkably, the film manages to sustain a believably mystical universe without using any human actors, instead relying upon Henson's puppet creatures to tell its dark yet whimsical tale. Inspired by the fabled stories of the Brothers Grimm, THE DARK CRYSTAL takes place on another planet in a far-off past, and follows Jen and Kira, the last two members of the Gelfling tribe, who are trying to stop the evil Skeksis from conquering their world.

Saturday, May 31
Doors 11:15 am | Movie 11:45 am *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Kids under 13 just $10!

THE DARK CRYSTAL (Jim Henson & Frank Oz, 1982 / 93 mins) | On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

"I am not an animal! I am a human being! I.. am... a... man!"

With this poignant second feature, David Lynch brought his atmospheric visual and sonic palette to a notorious true story set in Victorian England. When the London surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) meets the freak-show performer John Merrick (John Hurt), who has severe skeletal and soft-tissue deformities, he assumes that he must be intellectually disabled as well. As the two men spend more time together, though, Merrick reveals the intelligence, gentle nature, and profound sense of dignity that lie beneath his shocking appearance, and he and Treves develop a friendship.

Shot in gorgeous black and white and boasting a stellar supporting cast that includes Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Freddie Jones and Wendy Hiller, THE ELEPHANT MAN was nominated for eight Academy Awards, cementing Lynch’s reputation as one of American cinema’s most visionary talents.

"David Lynch's powerful depiction of Merrick (played by John Hurt) moves a viewer from revulsion and fear to empathy and tenderness. That's the very movement of the story itself." (The New Yorker)

"It is an absorbing and satisfying drama, and John Hurt's Merrick is very powerful." (Guardian)

"Director David Lynch has created an eerily compelling atmosphere in recounting a hideously deformed man's perilous life in Victorian England." (Variety)

"This is a tale of redemption and transcendence, of the hunchback of London Hospital, of the noble phantom who wanted to go to the opera, of Beauty and the Beast." (TIME Magazine)

Saturday, May 31
Doors 1:30 pm | Movie 1:50 pm *Please arrive on time. Start time subject to change.

THE ELEPHANT MAN (David Lynch, 1980 / 124 mins / PG) A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

Hard Rubber Orchestra, Canada’s 18-piece jazz powerhouse, will reprise the music of the famed Mahavishnu Orchestra. In the early 70's, this five-piece unit, lead by guitarist John McLaughlin, blew minds and drew a cult following with their ground-breaking fusion of jazz, Indian ragas and high volume rock.

Hard Rubber will perform original arrangements by John Korsrud, Fred Stride, Bill Runge and others, with guests; drummer Randall Stoll, and Chris Gestrin on keyboards, along with the 18-piece orchestra. HRO last presented this popular tribute more than a decade ago, and is excited to once again give audiences a chance to see the Mahavishnu Orchestra re-visited and re-imagined by Vancouver's one and only Hard Rubber Orchestra. Special guests: The Fits (Veda Hille and Patsy Klein).

7:30 pm: Short music films
8:15 pm: The Fits
9 pm: Hard Rubber Orchestra
Schedule subject to change

“John Korsrud likes a good challenge. Last year, he and his Vancouver-based 18-piece Hard Rubber Orchestra performed two big-band concerts of songs by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the 1970 jazz-rock quintet that favoured odd time signatures and high-octane delivery. To these ears, that second concert was the best show at last year’s jazz festival.” (Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun)

Saturday, May 31
Doors 6:30 pm | Event 7:30pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Main Floor (Assigned Seating) - Sliding Scale $20+ s/c | $25+ s/c | $30+ s/c ('Sliding Scale' pricing = Pay what you can while supporting local, Canadian artists)
Balcony (General Admission) -  $15+ s/c

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Formed by artistic director John Korsrud in 1990, the Hard Rubber Orchestra has consistently been one of Canada's most active and unpredictable ensembles of creative music, presenting concerts of original music by some of Canada's most exciting composers, performed by Vancouver's finest musicians. The orchestra has recorded five albums, toured across Canada and to Europe. In 2005, they were the recipients of the Alcan Arts Award, the largest arts award in Canada for the creation of new work. They have produced several large theatrical works such as operas, avant ice shows, and arts raves and commissioned nearly 100 new works by composers such as Kenny Wheeler, John Hollenbeck, Darcy James Argue, Christine Jensen, Peggy Lee, Marianne Trudel, and Brad Turner. @hardrubberorchestra

"That was pure wild animal craziness."

Based on the beloved children's book 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' by Roald Dahl, director Wes Anderson's animated adaptation is a delightfully charming and completely entertaining tale of an urbane fox ("vulpus vulpus") who returns to his former farm-raiding ways and helps his community of animal friends survive the local farmers' retaliation. Anderson assembled the vocal talents of many of his regular cohorts, including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and more.

"Visually, the movie is a wonder, with its profusion of detail and exquisitely focused "performances" by the figurines, whom Anderson frames in images as precisely composed as those in his live-action work." (The New Yorker)

Sunday, June 1
Doors 11:15 am | Movie 11:45 am *Start time subject to change.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX (Wes Anderson, 2009 / 87 mins / PG) After 12 years of bucolic bliss, Mr. Fox breaks a promise to his wife and raids the farms of their human neighbors, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Giving in to his animal instincts endangers not only his marriage but also the lives of his family and their animal friends. When the farmers force Mr. Fox and company deep underground, he has to resort to his natural craftiness to rise above the opposition.

London. The 1960s. Two unemployed actors—acerbic, elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden "I" (Paul McGann)—drown their frustrations in booze, pills, and lighter fluid. When Withnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage, they escape the squalor of their flat for a week in the country. They soon realize they’ve gone on holiday by mistake when their wits—and friendship—are sorely tested by violent downpours, less than hospitable locals, and empty cupboards. An intelligent, superbly acted, and hilarious film, Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical cult favorite is presented here in its complete and uncut version.

"There is a certain kind of movie that gets praised not so much because of its virtues as because, in some strange way, we suspect that no one would ever dare make its like again. 'Withnail and I' is one of those enterprises." (Guardian UK)

"Self-destruction has never been more articulate or refreshingly amusing." (Toronto Star)

Sunday, June 1
Doors 1:30 pm | Movie 2:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

WITHNAIL AND I (Bruce Robinson, 1987 / 14A / 107 mins) Two out-of-work actors -- the anxious, luckless Marwood (Paul McGann) and his acerbic, alcoholic friend, Withnail (Richard E. Grant) -- spend their days drifting between their squalid flat, the unemployment office and the pub. When they take a holiday "by mistake" at the country house of Withnail's flamboyantly gay uncle, Monty (Richard Griffiths), they encounter the unpleasant side of the English countryside: tedium, terrifying locals and torrential rain.

Rain Coast Choir is proud to present our Summer of Love Showcase at the Rio Theatre on Sunday, June 1. Join us as we pay tribute to the music and the spirit of the 60’s. Led by Joline Baylis and backed by a full band, we’ll sing original arrangements of songs by The Mamas and the Papas, The Band, Buffalo Springfield and more!

Featuring cameos by guest artists Leo D.E. Johnson and C.R. Avery.

Sunday, June 1
Doors 7:00 pm | Show 7:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Adults $30 + s/c
Kids 12 and under $20 +s/c

By purchasing a ticket to the Summer of Love Showcase, you are supporting our vibrant choir community and helping to provide a safe space for singers of all backgrounds to explore their love of music and singing.

To contact the organizers of this event, please email info@raincoastchoir.com

At the height of summer, 18-year-old Cécile is languishing by the French seaside with her handsome father, Raymond, and his girlfriend, Elsa, when the arrival of her late mother’s friend, Anne, changes everything. Amid the sun-drenched splendour of their surroundings, Cécile’s world is threatened and, desperate to regain control, she sets in motion a plan to drive Anne away with tragic consequences.

An adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s unforgettable coming-of-age novel by the same title, Durga Chew-Bose’s debut feature BONJOUR TRISTESSE masterfully captures the complexity of relationships between women and how they wield influence over one another’s fates. With Lily McInerny, Chloë Sevigny, Claes Bang, Naïlia Harzoune.

"'Bonjour Tristesse' is a rich experience in more ways than one, while it also burns beneath with a rising secret fire. Give it some patience, and it will give you an unforgettable experience." (Film Threat)

"The film’s two hours float by like a boat on the Riviera waters – languorous with a delicious sprinkling of lingering disquietude. Oh, such beautiful, privileged indolence: j’ai la flemme." (Cineuropa)

"Director Durga Chew-Bose makes a convincing case for the remake by showing, like Cécile, a keen awareness of how to direct a gaze." (New York Times)

Tuesday, June 3
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE (Durga Chew-Bose, 2025 / 110 mins / PG / French and English with English subs) Cécile's relaxing summer with her father in the south of France is upended by the arrival of the enigmatic Anne.

Deaf-mute horror author Maddie Young lost her abilities to hear and speak after contracting bacterial meningitis at age 13, causing hearing loss and temporary vocal cord paresis which became permanent after an unsuccessful surgery. Following the critical acclaim of her novel Midnight Mass, Maddie has left New York City for a solitary life in the woods with her cat, struggling to write her next book.

"By the end of the film's brief runtime (it runs less than 80 minutes without credits), it's done exactly what it set out to do, which is to give you a thrilling, engaging experience without wasting its time or overstaying its welcome." (The Blu Spot)

"In the realm of suspense, 'Hush' stands out as a tightly wound thriller, driven by Kate Siegel’s performance and Mike Flanagan’s direction, which never misses a beat." (Denton Record-Chronicle)

Tuesday, June 3
Doors 8:30 pm | Film 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time. 

HUSH: Director's Cut (Mike Flanagan, 2016 / 82 mins / 14A ) A deaf woman is stalked by a psychotic killer in her secluded home.

Join us at the Rio Theatre on Wednesday, June 4 for Matthieu Kassovitz' gritty and groundbreaking urban French drama LA HAINE (2020 restoration).

Mathieu Kassovitz took the film world by storm with his 1996 feature LA HAINE, a bold, unsettling, and visually explosive look at the racial and cultural volatility in modern-day France, specifically the low-income banlieue districts on Paris’s outskirts. Aimlessly passing their days in the concrete environs of their dead-end suburbia, Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Koundé), and Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui)—a Jew, an African, and an Arab—give human faces to France’s immigrant populations, their bristling resentment at their marginalization slowly simmering until it reaches a climactic boiling point.

A work of tough beauty, LA HAINE is a landmark of contemporary French cinema, and a gripping reflection of its country’s ongoing identity crisis.

"LA HAINE is an unmissable response to an unending emergency." (Guardian)

"A layered conundrum that builds to a stunning crescendo, Mathieu Kassovitz's LA HAINE is an extremely intelligent take on an idiotic reality: the mutual mistrust, contempt and hatred between the police and France's disenfranchised young citizens." (Variety)

Wednesday, June 4
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Why not make it a VINCENT CASSEL Double Bill with David Cronenberg's THE SHROUDS, for one sweet price!
https://riotheatretickets.ca/events/35687-vincent-cassel-double-bill-la-haine-30th-anniversary-the-shrouds

LA HAINE "Hate" (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1996 / 98 mins / 18A / French with English subs) When a young Arab is arrested and beaten unconscious by police, a riot erupts in the notoriously violent suburbs outside of Paris. Three of the victim's peers - a Jew, an African, and an Arab - wander aimlessly about their home turf in the aftermath of the violence as they try to come to grips with their outrage over the brutal incident. After one of the men finds a police officer's discarded weapon, their night seems poised to take a bleak turn.

Mathieu Kassovitz took the film world by storm with his 1996 feature LA HAINE, a bold, unsettling, and visually explosive look at the racial and cultural volatility in modern-day France, specifically the low-income banlieue districts on Paris’s outskirts. Aimlessly passing their days in the concrete environs of their dead-end suburbia, Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Koundé), and Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui)—a Jew, an African, and an Arab—give human faces to France’s immigrant populations, their bristling resentment at their marginalization slowly simmering until it reaches a climactic boiling point.

THE SHROUDS revolves around a technological entrepreneur, Karsh, who is still grieving the loss of his wife, Becca. When several graves, including Becca's, are desecrated, Karsh embarks on a quest to find the perpetrator, which leads him down a nightmarish path of paranoia and grief when he engineers a technology that allows loved ones to watch their deceased family members decompose in specially designed burial shrouds. With Vincent Cassel (LA HAINE, BLACK SWAN), Diane Kruger (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), Guy Pearce (MEMENTO, THE BRUTALIST), and Sandrine Holt.

Wednesday, June 4
Doors 6:00 PM | Film 6:30 PM *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Brief intermission.

Doors 8:45 PM | Film 9:00 PM *As this is part of a double bill, start time is approximate only. Please arrive early.

Single film tickets also available.

LA HAINE “Hate” (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1996 / 98 mins / 18A / French with English subs) When a young Arab is arrested and beaten unconscious by police, a riot erupts in the notoriously violent suburbs outside of Paris. Three of the victim’s peers – a Jew, an African, and an Arab – wander aimlessly about their home turf in the aftermath of the violence as they try to come to grips with their outrage over the brutal incident. After one of the men finds a police officer’s discarded weapon, their night seems poised to take a bleak turn.

THE SHROUDS (David Cronenberg, 2025 / 121 mins  18A) Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.

THE SHROUDS revolves around a technological entrepreneur, Karsh, who is still grieving the loss of his wife, Becca. When several graves, including Becca's, are desecrated, Karsh embarks on a quest to find the perpetrator, which leads him down a nightmarish path of paranoia and grief when he engineers a technology that allows loved ones to watch their deceased family members decompose in specially designed burial shrouds. With Vincent Cassel (LA HAINE, BLACK SWAN), Diane Kruger (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), Guy Pearce (MEMENTO, THE BRUTALIST), and Sandrine Holt.

"'The Shrouds' is the saddest movie David Cronenberg has ever made. It’s steeped in grief; the loss of the filmmaker’s wife Carolyn in 2017 is the engine that drives every scene, and his decision to style and groom star Vincent Cassel as his own doppelgänger brings the point home all the more powerfully." (TIFF.net)

"Even when purporting to tell his own story, Cronenberg cannot help but leave us with something more expansively unsettling." (The New Yorker)

Wednesday, June 4
Doors 8:30 pm | Movie 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Why not make it a Vincent Cassel Double Bill with the 30th Anniversary screening of Mathieu Kassovitz's, LA HAINE, for one sweet price here: https://riotheatretickets.ca/events/35687-vincent-cassel-double-bill-la-haine-30th-anniversary-the-shrouds

THE SHROUDS (David Cronenberg, 2025 / 121 mins  18A) Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.

In 1999, our pal Kevin Smith and some friends released DOGMA to the masses, which has become a grade-A cult classic over the years. The film has been stuck in limbo due to rights issues, but last year, those rights have now reverted back to Kevin Smith and his team. This film was only available through physical media from old DVD and Blu-ray releases in the 2000s (predating streaming rights). Now with the film available once again, Kevin Smith is happy to offer the special 25th anniversary 4K remastered re-release of DOGMA: Resurrected! A 25th Anniversary Celebration for the original audience to see on the big screen - and for a new generation of fans to experience it for the first time in movie theatres.

This release will offer special bonus content, featuring Q&A highlights of Smith and friends from appearances being filmed later this month. We would love for you to join this celebration of Kevin’s favorite film in his repertoire!

DOGMA is a satirical fantasy comedy that follows two fallen angels, Bartleby and Loki, who discover a loophole that would allow them to return to Heaven, which would inadvertently undo the creation of the universe. A woman named Bethany, who is struggling with her faith, is tasked with stopping them before their plan succeeds. Along the way, she is joined by various characters, including a muse, a seraphim, and a group of unlikely allies, all as they battle against the forces of heaven and hell. A genuine cult-classic, DOGMA combines dark humor, theological questions, and absurdity to explore topics of faith, redemption, and religious mythology.

"Deliriously funny!" (Hollywood Reporter)

"Dogma is a raucous, profane but surprisingly endearing piece of work, a funny and lively film of ideas." (Los Angeles Times)

Thursday, June 5
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets on sale April 23

DOGMA (Kevin Smith, 1999 / 135 mins / 18A) Two fallen angels who were ejected from paradise find themselves banned in Wisconsin. They are now headed for New Jersey where they find a loophole that can get them back into heaven. The only catch is that it will destroy humanity. A group bands together to stop them.

Legendary Indian director Mani Ratnam's upcoming Tamil-language gangster action-drama THUG LIFE follows Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker, a powerful gangster who was presumed dead and returns, only to find himself at odds with his own son, Amaran "Amar", leading to a bitter rivalry between them. The highly anticipated title marks the significant reunion between lead actor Haasan and Ratnam, decades after their their previous film, the epic NAYAKAN (1987).

Please note this film screens in Tamil with EST.

Thursday, June 5
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THUG LIFE (Mani Ratnam | 2025 | 120 min | NR | Tamil w. EST) Set in the crime and corruption-ridden New Delhi, the story revolves around Rangaraaya Sakthivel "Sakthi", who, along with his brother Rangaraaya Manickavel "Mani", saves a young boy named Amaran during a horrific shootout with the police and adopts him.

*Must be 18+ for entry. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film only. Please redeem at the door.
*We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for in-person purchase at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability). Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime.
*All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.

*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds or exchanges.

"Is she insane?"
"Well, she's not normal."

And who is these days?! So why not be amongst other like minded abnormalities when coming #FridayLateNight to the Rio Theatre on June 6, we present horror icon and master suspense filmmaker, Dario Argento's PHENOMENA (AKA Creepers).

Dario Argento changed the course of horror history with movies like DEEP RED and SUSPIRIA. But his greatest achievement was deciding to pit Jennifer Connelly (LABYRINTH), Donald Pleasence (HALLOWEEN), and a cute monkey against a horde of killer insects. With a little bit of CARRIE, a touch of Nancy Drew, and a whole lot of black-gloved giallo mayhem, PHENOMENA is Argento’s finest entry in the coked-out, anything-goes sweepstakes of 1980s horror. From the shocking violence to the songs by Iron Maiden, this movie was made to be watched by a theater full of appreciative maniacs.

"As troublesome as this sentiment may sound, SUSPIRIA and DEEP RED might be Argento’s most important movies, but their formidable powers dim substantially when stacked up against to the berserk and rapturous mutant anomaly that is PHENOMENA." (Alexander On Film)

"Even folks who don't generally like movies that can broadly be categorized as "gore" or "slasher" flicks should be able to get a kick out of the works of Dario Argento, and Phenomena represents as good a starting point as any." (Film Frenzy)

Friday, June 6
Doors 10:30 pm | Film 11:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

#FridayLateNight is date night! Bring your favorite judgmental nurse,  boarding school bully or swarm of drones and get 2-for-1 tickets!

PHENOMENA aka Creepers (Dario Argento | 1985 | 110 mins | R) A young girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.

RSVP to the Nest Client Appreciation Day.
Eligible attendees will have received an invitation along with the required promo code to access tickets.

RAFFLE DRAW
DOOR PRIZES
PRIVATE FILM SCREENING OF A CLASSIC FAMILY FLICK
FREE SMALL POP & POPCORN
PHOTOBOOTH

Saturday, June 7
Doors 11:00 am | Film 11:45 am *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

All tickets proceeds will be donated to Covenant House Vancouver.

Ванкувер, зустрічайте КІНО-КОМБО!
Один квиток = 2 фільми.
Два найуспішніших фільми цієї весни разом:

«Ярослав Мудрий – тесть Європи»
Документально-художній деталізований фільм про період величі, коли Великий Князь Київський та його діти змінювали хід історії Європи, в той час, коли на болотах каркали лише ворони.
Приходь і дізнайся більше про важливе минуле.

«Песики»
Романтична і надзвичайно смішна комедія про Яну, успішну та незалежну, але трошечки легковажну. У постійній біганини за коханням вона і не помітила як вляпалась в справжню магію. Кожен новий кавалер після пристрасної (або не дуже) ночі перетворюється на кабеля тобто песика. Скільки ж буде тих собак - приходьте рахувати і сміятись .

Фільм українською мовою з англійськими субтитрами.

Saturday, June 7
Двері відчиняються о 14:30 *Час початку може бути змінено. Будь ласка, прибудьте вчасно.
Початок фільму «Ярослав Мудрий – тесть Європи» о 15:00
Початок фільму «Песики» о 16:00

Ціна квитка:
Лише одна плівка - 20 доларів США + ціна
Комбо-квиток у кінотеатр $25 + п/п

Тривалість:
«Ярослав Мудрий – тесть Європи» – 50 хв
Фільм «Песики» – 1 год 35 хв

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Vancouver, get ready for a CINEMA COMBO!
One ticket = 2 films.
Two of this spring’s biggest hits — together in one unforgettable screening.

Yaroslav the Wise – Europe’s Father-in-Law
A detailed docu-drama about a time of greatness, when the Grand Prince of Kyiv and his children were shaping the course of European history — while the rest of the continent was still covered in swamps and ravens.
Come and discover the powerful legacy of our past.

Doggies
A romantic and wildly funny comedy about Yana — successful, independent… and maybe a little reckless. Caught in the whirlwind of modern dating, she doesn’t even notice the magic sneaking in — until each new lover turns into a dog the morning after.
How many dogs will there be? Come, count them — and laugh out loud.

The film is in Ukrainian with English subtitles.

Saturday, June 7
Doors 2:30 PM *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
The film "Yaroslav the Wise – Europe’s Father-in-Law" starts at 3:00 PM
The film "Doggies" starts at 4:00 PM

Ticket price:
One film only - $20 + s/c
Cinema-combo ticket $25 + s/c

Running time:
"Yaroslav the Wise – Europe’s Father-in-Law" – 50 min
The film "Doggies" – 1h 35min

The Fairy Creek (Ada’itsx) valley sprawls across Pacheedaht First Nation territory on southwestern Vancouver Island and its old growth forest ecosystem thrives with lush foliage, ancient tree trunks, and a variety of wildlife. However, the decimating chainsaws and tractor machinery of the Teal Jones lumber corporation disrupt this equilibrium as they demolish an environmental haven into pavement for their road-building project. Amidst the tumult, Jen Muranetz’s FAIRY CREEK captures the vast collective protests against this destructive logging operation: a movement which has spawned both the largest demonstration of civil disobedience in Canadian history and the mass arrests of 1200 people.

The film offers visceral front-line footage of activists faced with an RCMP-enforced injunction, protesting from ground to sky as blockaders form barriers with their bodies and tree-sitters’ forest canopies are assailed by officers deployed from helicopters. FAIRY CREEK is an urgent portrait of resistance, documenting an assembly of protestors organizing together despite varying backgrounds, ideologies, and tactics. Director Muranetz highlights the rapture of a united eco-activist community, coinhabiting the earth, dancing together, and cherishing biodiversity. At the same time, this breathtaking documentary tremors with the challenges of political consciousness in an age of rampant extractive capitalism, where industries working with governments eviscerate everything in their path, including the last pristine ecosystems. FAIRY CREEK depicts a historic struggle to defend Canadian old growth forests as an experience of absolute devotion, thrust between whiplashes of triumph and heartbreak.

Director Jen Muranetz and producer / DP Sepehr Samimi will be in attendance for post-show Q&A.

Saturday, June 7
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

FAIRY CREEK (Jen Muranetz, 2024 / 78 mins / NR) In a last-ditch attempt to stop old growth logging, some impassioned forest defenders put up more than 12 blockades across the pristine Fairy Creek valley in Vancouver Island. History repeats in a deja-vu of the iconic Clayoquot Sound blockades in the 90s, this time with higher stakes amidst a climate emergency. A deep dive into the complex encounters of the settler activists, local First Nation members, loggers, and RCMP officers, this character-driven feature documentary chronicles the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

Jen Muranetz - Director, Producer:
Jen Muranetz (she/her) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker living on unceded Coast Salish territories in the place now known as Vancouver, BC. She is a director, producer, editor and former video journalist. Her films are character-driven and impact-focused, centered around environmental justice and human resilience. Her previous works have screened in festivals such as DOXA, DOK Leipzig and Planet in Focus. Her credits include Lost Nation Road and What About Our Future? which was a finalist at the Social Impact Media Awards and won the Nigel Moore Award for Youth Programming at DOXA 2021.

Sepehr Samimi - Producer, DP
Sepehr Samimi (he/him) is an Iranian-Canadian documentary cinematographer and producer (BFA film production from SFU). He specializes in filming on the frontlines of urgent social and political movements across the world such as: If [I Was] To Retain You, shot in Hong Kong during the Umbrella movement, hit global climate movement film The Magnitude of All Things, and Constant Battles for TELUS originals featuring the Woman Life Freedom movement in Iran. Sepehr is a member of Intl Cinematographers Guild (ICG669) and Canadian Cinematographers Society, and alumni of HotDocs Doc Accelerator program. Samimi’s credits also include Light Through The Blindfold, and Abundance.

Rafi Spivak (Editor) is an award-winning film editor, filmmaker, educator and post production specialist. He has edited 12 dramatic features, 15 feature length documentary films and more than 40 hours of television series for major Canadian and US broadcasters. His work has been presented at some of the world’s best film festivals (TIFF, HotDocs) and has been shown on television stations in Canada and the US (CBS, Lifetime, Hallmark, CBC, Bravo!, PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, History). He has been an adjunct professor at UBC for the past 18 years and teaches regularly at Emily Carr University, and Capilano University. He holds an MFA from Emily Carr University and a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and computer science. Credits include Raised to be Heroes for the NFB (Hotdocs, 2005) and the dramatic feature Kingsway (TIFF, VIFF 2019).

Co-presented by Sierra Club BC

Speaker: Jens Wieting
Jens has over 20 years of international experience protecting forests and supporting
climate action, guided by the realization that we cannot stabilize the climate without
intact forests, and we cannot save intact forests without a stable climate. He promotes
science-based solutions to safeguard biodiversity and wind down fossil fuels while
respecting and incorporating Indigenous rights and knowledge and leaving no one
behind.

Growing up on the coast of the North Sea in West Germany, Jens became passionate
about nature at a young age. After high school, he got hooked on forests after spending
some time in the Amazon rainforest region of Ecuador. He studied land use planning at
the Technische Universität Berlin, where he also worked for a land use planning office.
Prior to coming to Canada, Jens worked as Tropical Forest Campaigner for German
environmental organization Robin Wood, with a focus on protecting rainforests in
Indonesia from the pulp and paper industry. He also worked for the German
development cooperation to support conservation planning in the Biosphere Reserve
Bosawas, the largest tropical rainforest region of Central America in Nicaragua. Jens
has written numerous articles for Canadian and German newspapers about
environmental issues.

Jens enjoys spending time with his family, hiking and camping in the rainforest,
mountains and on the coast. He is a passionate nature photographer, always ready to
get muddy to take pictures of critters and ancient trees in the old-growth forests he
loves.

Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called "life"

Electric word, life
It means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm here to tell you
There's something else
The afterworld...

Join us at the Rio Theatre on Saturday, June 7 for a very special screening of The Purple One's cinematic and musical triumph, PURPLE RAIN, on what would have been his 57th birthday. Gorgeously remastered and restored for its 40th Anniversary in 2024, this is the singular, indelible rock musical for which Prince took home both Oscar and Grammy gold.

We're turning the volume up for this one, children. (Get ready to go crazy with the beautiful ones in the Rio Theatre audience - 80's-inspired attire is very welcome, and oh-so-very encouraged. You best be wearing purple, people!)

Based loosely on his own life story, Prince's film debut in PURPLE RAIN cast him as "The Kid," the talented but troubled musician in Minneapolis struggling to make it big with his band, The Revolution. The film was a box office hit, and possessed a fantastic soundtrack (including Oscar-winner 'When Doves Cry') that forever altered the course of his career. Many fans and critics consider the music of PURPLE RAIN signature work, spawning numerous hit singles that would dominate airwaves for years to come.

"'Purple Rain' became a generational manifesto, while providing the largest megaphone yet for one of the greatest geniuses in pop music." (NPR)

Saturday, June 7
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

PURPLE RAIN (Albert Magnoli, 1984 / 111 mins / 18A) | A talented young musician in Minneapolis, tormented by an abusive, bold father and a mother who is never satisfied, must contend with a rival singer, a darling romance, and his own dissatisfied bandmates - while his own star (and baby, he is one) begins to rise.

A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, the Latvian animated adventure FLOW follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis (AWAY) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, FLOW is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.

Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 98%, FLOW is the best-reviewed animated film of the year. Following a world premiere in Cannes, the film then screened in Annecy where it won three juried prizes as well as the Audience Award, before going onto a North American premiere at TIFF.

FLOW was Latvia's first film to ever be nominated for an Oscar, receiving nominations for both Best Animated Feature Film and Best International Film categories. It took home Oscar gold for Best Animated Feature Film, and has become a cultural phenomenal in Latvia (and around the world!).

"Critic's Pick! Zilbalodis largely avoids the sort of whimsy and sentimentality that might plague, say, a Disney movie with the same premise. The animals act like real animals, not like cartoons or humans, and that restraint gives their adventure an authenticity that, in moments of both delight and peril, makes the emotion that much more powerful."
(The New York Times)

"The real takeaway is that we have to rely on each other for salvation. And it’s here where this experiential experiment in empathy, eco-activism and elation over the creative possibilities of a medium too often hijacked to sell toys truly hits its marks." (Rolling Stone Magazine)

Saturday, June 21
Doors 10:30 am | Movie 11:00 am  *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Italian Day pricing in effect, all tickets for all films today, JUST $8! Bellissimo!

FLOW (Gints Zilbalodis, 2024 / 85 mins / PG) The world seems to be coming to an end, teeming with the vestiges of a human presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical overflowed landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.

Join us to celebrate the talent and tenacity of Templeton’s film students at the much anticipated premiere screening for our award-winning Afterschool Film Program. Introducing a grumpy grandpa turned Russian spy, a fate twisting deck of cards, a not-so-sad widow and her estranged family, a struggling musician and some silly, gross and poignant reflections on the realities of teen life – these ten films will alternately make you laugh, cry and maybe feel a bit nauseous. This event is East Van at it’s best – beautiful, weird, celebratory, and full of amazing support for both the kids we love and the incredible films they make.

This screening event is a fundraiser, and all proceeds go directly towards the Afterschool Film Program / Dream Big Productions at Templeton Secondary School.

Tuesday, June 10
Doors 6:00 pm | Screening 7:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets $18+ s/c | $20+ s/c at the door
On sale May 26 at 10:00 am

This event typically sells out in advance! We strongly encourage purchasing tickets sooner than later to ensure entry and avoid disappointment. Limit of 4 tickets / transaction.

Come join us for a night of celebration and camaraderie as the graduates of Capilano University’s Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts screen their thesis films. These students have worked tirelessly for four years to not only earn a degree but to develop their skills as artists and storytellers. With the help of the Rio theatre,  for the first time our graduates get to see their finished work on the big screen. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Running Order of Feature Films

Uncle Lyle
Life in the Digital Age
-------
Apple Pie
Hamster
Speak Up
------
Linger
Perfect Definition

INTERMISSION

Driver
Saviour Complex
------
Tomorrow’s Bird
I See You!
-----
Disconnected
First Break

Wednesday, June 11
Doors: 6:00 PM | Event 7:00 PM *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Ticket just $7 (All in)
Public ticket sales available after 10:00 am Wednesday, May 28

Join us at the Rio Theatre on Thursday, June 12 for a very special night featuring filmmaking icon Lloyd Kaufman live and in-conversation alongside screenings of both THE TOXIC AVENGER and TROMEO AND JULIET.

Kaufman is perhaps best known as the co-founder of  legendary studio Troma Entertainment, a true champion of independent cinema, and is himself the creator behind many of the most beloved and "gleefully offensive midnight movies" ever made. After establishing Troma (the longest-running independent movie studio in North America) in 1974, he managed to create one of the industry's most beloved, boundary-pushing brands that exploded into its own cult universe that includes maverick fans like James Gunn, Quentin Tarantino, and Kevin Smith.

Lloyd Kaufman will be kicking off his Western Canadian tour at the Rio Theatre before hitting  Victoria's Cinecenta on June 13 and Edmonton's Metro Cinema on June 14.

Thursday, June 12
Doors & Signings at 5:45 pm | Event 6:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Tickets $35 | $45 at the door

Lloyd will introduce THE TOXIC AVENGER and join us for a Q&A prior to screening TROMEO AND JULIET (9:00 pm).

THE TOXIC AVENGER (Lloyd Kaufman, 1984 / 82 mins / 18A) Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.

TROMEO AND JULIET (Lloyd Kaufman, 1996 / 107 mins / NR) Tromeo, a filmmaker, falls in love with Juliet, the daughter of a former partner who tried to steal his business from him.

A copious cavalcade of top notch talent and captivating cabaret await at The Rio Theatre Burlesque and Variety Show on Friday, June 13!

Local luminary April O’Peel has curated a show full of wonder sure to dazzle and delight our fun loving audience! The theme is NO THEME! That’s right! These talented performers will each be performing one act of their choosing! What act will they decide to bring to The Rio Theatre Burlesque and Variety Show!? Find out on June 13, as these stars align for one night only!

Friday, June 13
Doors 7:00 pm | Show 8:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

General Admission $30 + s/c | $35 + s/c at the door
VIP tickets (Rows 1-3, centre section) $40+ s/c
Squad Pass (Group of Four Tickets – online only) $100+ s/c

With Featured Performances By:

Dae LeeGrind & Simon Clarke || Demi Reign || Heavy Duty Dance Crew || Kiki Albright || The Neighbours || Ruby Revel || Soaring Stilt Dance || Viktoria Court || Vivian Brass || The WTFs

Hosted by Dandy

FRIDAY THE 13th on... Friday, the 13th....? (So meta!)

The Rio Theatre's Friday Late Night Movie series continues on June 13 with a 40th Anniversary screening of the fifth installment of the legendary franchise, A NEW BEGINNING. In this installment, homicidal maniac Jason returns from the grave to cause more bloody mayhem. Young Tommy may have escaped from Crystal Lake, but he’s still haunted by the gruesome events that happened there. When gory murders start happening at the secluded halfway house for troubled teens where he now lives, it seems like his nightmarish nemesis, Jason, is back for more sadistic slaughters. But as things spiral out of control and the body count rises, Tommy begins to wonder if he’s become the killer he fears most.

"The spiciest entry in the series, it boasts the most T&A, an incredible double homicide, a witty reference to A Place in the Sun, and yokels chopping chickens." (Slant Magazine)

Friday, June 13
Doors 11:00 pm | Movie 11:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Late Night Date Night! Bring a friend, date, or your old bunkmate from summer camp and get 2-for-1 entry!

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING (Danny Steinmann, 1985 / 92 mins / 18A) Still haunted by his past, Tommy Jarvis - who, as a child, killed Jason Voorhees - wonders if the serial killer is connected to a series of brutal murders occurring in and around the secluded halfway house where he now lives.

Join Gracenote and Kôr in celebrating 10 years of choral excellence and community building magic. From early days rehearsing in an East Van living room, this vibrant vocal family has grown into a powerhouse of over 70 voices.

WAVE is a joyful retrospective—featuring beloved hits, hidden gems, and genre-spanning favorites that traverse languages, cultures, and eras. Expect laughter, tears, goosebumps, unexpected cameos, stacked chords, and soaring harmonies.

Join us post-performance for a celebratory after-party!

Saturday, June 14
Doors 6:15 pm | Show 7:00 pm | After Party 9:30 pm
Tickets $31+ s/c

Learn more about Gracenote and Kôr at gracenotevancouver.com

The beloved 1994 Disney animated feature THE LION KING follows the adventures of the young lion Simba, the heir of his father, Mufasa. Simba's wicked uncle, Scar, plots to usurp Mufasa's throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon and Pumbaa. Featuring the iconic Oscar-winning score and songs from Sir Elton John and the voices of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, and Ernie Sabella.

"Emotionally stirring, richly drawn, and beautifully animated, The Lion King is a pride within Disney's pantheon of classic family films." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"The grandeur of the Serengeti Plain comes through the animation, and the young audience may actually feel something like amazement." (New York Magazine / Vulture)

Sunday, June 15
Doors 12:15 pm | Movie 12:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE LION KING (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994 / 88 mins / G) Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.

Writer-director Wes Anderson's unique, signature narrative and visual style are front and center in his offbeat 2001 comedy, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, an extraordinary story of one family's sudden, unexpected reunion.

Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children--Chas, Richie, and Margot--they were a family of geniuses and then they separated. Chas started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have had a preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot was a playwright and received a Braverman grant of fifty thousand dollars in the ninth grade. Richie was a junior champion tennis player and won the U.S. Nationals three years in a row. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault. The tale follows the family's sudden and unexpected reunion one recent winter. Starring the late, great Gene Hackman(in one of his final performances), Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray, and Alec Baldwin.

"With Wes Anderson's images, seductive as they are, we can ultimately only guess -- what Margot's plays are about, or who Etheline's suitors are... And that makes Anderson's film an exhilarating experience, a real jungle gym for the imagination." (Sight & Sound)

"Each character, as ever, is tucked into a shell of his or her obsessions, and yet the filming itself -- the grace of Anderson's draftsmanship, as it were -- binds the figures together into a team." (The New Yorker)

"A comedy of unrequited love, melancholy and disappointment. One to savour." (Time Out)

Sunday, June 15
Doors 5:30 pm | Movie 6:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (Wes Anderson, 2001 / 110 mins / 14A) Three siblings, gifted in their own way, have experienced success but are distant from each other. Their family has to reunite when their estranged father announces he is dying.

"Father of a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I shall have my vengeance in this life or the next!"

Iconic director Ridley Scott's sweeping historical action epic GLADIATOR is as enthralling now as it was upon its release in 2000. Winner of five Oscars (including Best Picture), including one for Australian actor Russell Crowe thanks to his stark yet moving portrayal of Maximus, a once-powerful Roman general stripped of his rank and forced to become a common gladiator at the behest of a corrupt and jealous Emperor.

When the stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius' scheming son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, in an Oscar-nominated performance) learns that he is to be passed over as heir in favour of his father's favourite General Maximus (Crowe), he becomes enraged and vindictive. His petulant jealousy sees him arranging the murders of both his father and Maximus' entire family in order to seize control of the empire. The devastated general is subsequently sold into slavery to be trained as a gladiator - but his unexpected popularity in the arena threatens the throne. With Richard Harris, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, and Derek Jacobi.

"As a sword and sandal epic, it still holds the exciting pulse to this day with Russell Crowe's magnificent performance and its emotional story about the Roman gladiator who fights as a liberator against a corrupt emperor." (Cinefilia)

"Russell Crowe solidly anchors this epic-scale gladiator movie - the first in nearly four decades - by using his burly frame and expressive face to give dimension to what might otherwise have been comic book heroics." (The Hollywood Reporter)

Sunday, June 15
Doors 8:00 pm | Movie 8:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

GLADIATOR (Ridley Scott, 2000 / 155 mins / 18A) A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.

Iron Dog Books and Black Bond Books/Book Warehouse proudly present An Evening With V.E. Schwab at the Rio Theatre, in celebration of "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil." The evening promises a lively discussion, hosted by local author and podcaster Hannah McGregor, and an in-depth question period.

Ticket price includes a signed and specially embossed copy of "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil." Additionally, autographed copies of V.E. Schwab's previous books will be available for purchase, while quantities last.

VICTORIA “V. E.” SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades universe, the Villains series, the City of Ghosts series, Gallant, and the international bestseller The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Translated into over two dozen languages and optioned for television and film, V.E. Schwab’s work is widely loved and critically acclaimed.

Monday, June 16 - Over 75% sold!
Doors 6:00 pm | Event 7:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Ticket price includes one signed copy of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, admission to event, and all taxes and fees.

Ticket purchasers will be contacted ahead of the event for the opportunity to submit questions.

Canadian creator Avan Jogia does triple duty as writer, director, and actor in the gritty and super-stylish thriller DOOR MOUSE, a neo-noir fable following Mouse (Hayley Law), an irreverent dancer at a dead-end burlesque club run by Mama, a tough, shady club owner.

When Mouse's only friends and fellow club dancers go missing under mysterious circumstances, nobody at the club seems too concerned about them, and the police couldn't care less. Mouse and her constant sidekick Ugly quickly realize that it is up to them to dig up all the dirt and start the hunt for the culprits. Desperate for answers and with time running out, Mouse chooses a very risky play that plunges her further down the rabbit hole and into a sordid underworld, leaving her out in the open. What she discovers is that corruption runs deep, monsters are real, and that sometimes, justice is meant to be taken into your own hands. With Keith Powers, Donal Logue, Famke Janssen, Nhi Do.

Writer-director Avan Jogia will be joining us to introduce the film and participate in a post-show Q&A.

"'Door Mouse' is a slick neo-noir that adds a lot to a genre that we don’t get enough of." (Film Inquiry)

"If there is any justice, 'Door Mouse' will garner the attention it deserves for being a well-defined narrative brought to life effectively." (Screen Rant)

"There are few movies out there that reproduce the feel of reading a comic book so well, and maybe none better than 'Door Mouse'." (Original Cin)

Tuesday, June 17
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

DOOR MOUSE (Avan Jogia, 2024 / 102 mins / 14A) A comic-book creator working at a burlesque club enlists the help of a colleague to figure out what's behind the disappearances of young women in their circle.

Reel Green™ presents
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

The first 100 people to arrive will receive a free medium popcorn.

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING (Avi Lewis, 2015 / 89 mins / PG) A look at seven communities around the world with the proposition that we can seize the crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.

CJ The X: You're Not God, I Am!
The Case Study of the Century

Our taboo desire for social status, the anthropomorphization of God, and the most pivotal rap beef of our generation.

CJ The X is an independent interdisciplinary artist and an autodidactic philosopher. They have been making music since 2015, releasing videos since 2021, writing essays since 2023, and performing lectures since 2024. Their philosophy focuses on religion, art, technology, community, relationship and love.

CJ The X’s work is crowdfunded through Patreon, where they host a book club, powerpoint parties, and Q&As.

Friday, June 20
Doors: 7:00 pm | Event 7:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

For first access to tickets subscribe to their mailing list @ cjthex.com/subscribe
cjthex.com
youtube.com/cjthex
patreon.com/cjthex

The Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon Party is returning to the Rio Theatre with a Spring Break event featuring an all-new lineup of retro TV goodness covered in sugary cereal. It's Volume VIII!

Kids today may not realize the significance of the Saturday morning ritual, but once upon a time, we had to wait a whole week to get our cartoon fix, and when we got it, we tended to binge. Well – welcome to The Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon Party - that special time when kids and kids-at-heart get to relive the exciting Saturday Morning ritual of non-stop retro cartoons, and binge on the multi-colored sugary cereals that used to be a part of every “balanced” breakfast!

The cartoon lineup is always a mystery, but expect to see monsters, sci-fi, sleuths, superheroes and all kinds of 2D silliness, both faves and obscurities spanning the '30s through the '90s, all punctuated with vintage commercials, PSAs and station IDs for a 3-hour trip down memory lane! So get ready for a sugar rush and an explosion of nostalgia all wrapped up in one candy-coated package.

Curated by David Bertrand

Dairy-free options available! Compostable bowls and spoons will be provided. We encourage guests to bring their own NON-BREAKABLE (ie, not ceramic) bowls and spoons.

Saturday, June 21
Doors 10:00 am | Event 10:30 am *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Adults $20
Kids Pricing (13 and under) $14

In 1999, our pal Kevin Smith and some friends released DOGMA to the masses, which has become a grade-A cult classic over the years. The film has been stuck in limbo due to rights issues, but last year, those rights have now reverted back to Kevin Smith and his team. This film was only available through physical media from old DVD and Blu-ray releases in the 2000s (predating streaming rights). Now with the film available once again, Kevin Smith is happy to offer the special 25th anniversary 4K remastered re-release of DOGMA: Resurrected! A 25th Anniversary Celebration for the original audience to see on the big screen - and for a new generation of fans to experience it for the first time in movie theatres.

This release will offer special bonus content, featuring Q&A highlights of Smith and friends from appearances being filmed later this month. We would love for you to join this celebration of Kevin’s favorite film in his repertoire!

DOGMA is a satirical fantasy comedy that follows two fallen angels, Bartleby and Loki, who discover a loophole that would allow them to return to Heaven, which would inadvertently undo the creation of the universe. A woman named Bethany, who is struggling with her faith, is tasked with stopping them before their plan succeeds. Along the way, she is joined by various characters, including a muse, a seraphim, and a group of unlikely allies, all as they battle against the forces of heaven and hell. A genuine cult-classic, DOGMA combines dark humor, theological questions, and absurdity to explore topics of faith, redemption, and religious mythology.

"Deliriously funny!" (Hollywood Reporter)

"Dogma is a raucous, profane but surprisingly endearing piece of work, a funny and lively film of ideas." (Los Angeles Times)

Saturday, June 21
Doors 7:30 pm | Movie 8:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

DOGMA (Kevin Smith, 1999 / 135 mins / 18A) Two fallen angels who were ejected from paradise find themselves banned in Wisconsin. They are now headed for New Jersey where they find a loophole that can get them back into heaven. The only catch is that it will destroy humanity. A group bands together to stop them.

"Oh, hi Mark!"

Join us at the Rio Theatre for a very special screening of one of the best experiences you can have in a darkened theatre: Tommy Wiseau's epic, pop-culture masterpiece THE ROOM.

What a story! A marvel of modern cinema, Tommy Wiseau's THE ROOM is so powerful that it will, literally, "tear you apart." (Or, maybe just your brain. And occasionally your eyeballs.) In the pantheon of you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it, best-worst movies, it's quite possible that nothing tops THE ROOM. It's the CITIZEN KANE of bad movies! And truly, truly, the best (trust) way to experience this "masterpiece" is in the dark, on the big screen, and with a packed audience of confused (and enthused!) lovers of director Wiseau's bizarre cinematic oddity that has morphed into a pop-culture phenomenon.

Fun Fact: In 2014, while James Franco was in town shooting THE INTERVIEW, he came to the Rio Theatre for a screening of THE ROOM and a live reading from THE DISASTER ARTIST, hosted by Greg Sestero. Franco was so taken by Greg’s memoir and the rapturous response of the crowd, that they shook on the making of the feature that very night!

THE ROOM is easily the Rio Theatre audiences' all-time, hands-down forever favourite "so bad, it's good" movies. In fact, among our collective guiltiest cinematic pleasures, it may just be the bestest "best-worst" films of all time!

Saturday, June 21
Doors 10:30 pm | Movie 11:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE ROOM (Tommy Wiseau, 2003 / 99 mins / 18A) Johnny is a successful banker with great respect for and dedication to the people in his life, especially his future wife Lisa. The happy-go-lucky guy sees his world fall apart when his friends begin to betray him one-by-one.

June is Pride month across North America and the Rio Theatre is joining in the celebration with the groundbreaking, and first of its kind in contemporary Hollywood mainstream films, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN: 20th anniversary screening. Happening Sunday, June 22 at 6pm.

The film is set in a fictitious yet picturesque location, Brokeback Mountain, and chronicles the lives of two cowboys Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist who are hired by Joe Aguirre in 1963 for sheep-herding. Slowly, the men develop a close, intimate relationship, but the values instilled in them by the heteronormative society prevents them from embracing their true feelings. They part from one another with heavy hearts, only to meet again, four years later. Ennis is married to the young Alma and has children of his own while Jack has a son with the wealthy daughter of a farm businessman, Lureen. Jack and Ennis rekindle their passion and frequently escape on romantic getaways under the pretext of fishing trips.

"To my mind, Brokeback Mountain (2005, Ang Lee) is a landmark film, a film that utterly deconstructs the “cowboy” (hypermasculine, patriarchal, phallocentric) ideology, while also revealing how horribly destructive such normalizing ideologies as hypermasculinity, patriarchy, heteronormativity, and Christianity/Protestantism are to identity. (Your Film Professor)

"Intimate and emotionally stirring, the film can be evaluated on multiple levels. It is important to note that despite there being quite a few LGBTQ+ films, Brokeback Mountain has cemented its position in cinematic history and is often considered the “go-to gay movie”. (faroutmagazine.co.uk)

Sunday, June 22
Doors 5:30 PM | Film 6:00 PM *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Ang lee | 2005 | 134 mins | 14A) In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.

On the weekend of May 16, 160 filmmaking teams set off to create a short film in just 48 hours.

Now, 158 completed films will hit the big screen in this massive showcase of creativity, chaos, and indie film spirit.

Come see what can be made in a weekend with no sleep - and all heart.

Monday, June 23
Doors 6:00 pm | Event 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Show details and tickets coming soon!

On the weekend of May 16, 160 filmmaking teams set off to create a short film in just 48 hours.

Now, 158 completed films will hit the big screen in this massive showcase of creativity, chaos, and indie film spirit.

Come see what can be made in a weekend with no sleep - and all heart.

Tuesday, June 24
Doors 6:00 pm | Event 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Show details and tickets coming soon!

On the weekend of May 16, 160 filmmaking teams set off to create a short film in just 48 hours.

Now, 158 completed films will hit the big screen in this massive showcase of creativity, chaos, and indie film spirit.

Come see what can be made in a weekend with no sleep - and all heart.

Wednesday, June 25
Doors 6:00 pm | Event 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Show details and tickets coming soon!

The Vancouver Burlesque Co. welcomes you to the finale show of their Spring 2025 Season. Join us as we celebrate our student's accomplishments, onstage in a sizzling season wrap-up! Prepare yourself for amazing large group acts, and some stunning soloists. These shows are pure magic, sparkle and fun, and we can't wait to share the evening with friends, family and fans.

Featuring group performances by the classes of instructors Androsia Wilde, Ariel Helvetica, Cherry OnTop, Gigi Lavande and La Dame Derriere. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of our soloists and guests!

Hosted by Miss Kiss

Thursday, June 26
7:00 pm | Show 8:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

General Admission $30+ s/c | $35+ s/c at the door

Please note: These shows tend to sell out well in advance - buy tickets sooner than later to avoid disappointment!

Now in its 14th year, the smash hit epic comedy THE CRITICAL HIT SHOW returns to the Rio Theatre's stage on Wednesday, July for another night of dork-filled humour.

Prepare yourself for a generous dose of laughter and snorting out loud, as some of Vancouver’s best comedic performers grace the stage in a night featuring some of this City's most intrepid players on a gallant quest for comedy glory (and more snacks!) in a hilarious adventure saga that has been running continuously since 2012.

Spanning over 100 live performances in both Canada and the United States, two years of “at-home” streaming, and frequent festival appearances, THE CRITICAL HIT SHOW is one of the longest running comedy shows around. #DNDLive is an improvised adventure that takes its inspiration from tabletop role-playing games, fantasy film and TV, and (most importantly) you!

Whether you’re a longtime fan, you’ve been enjoying our live streamed shows, or you’re brand new to the experience - you’re going to have a great time.

Wednesday, July 2
Doors 6:15 pm | Show 7:00 pm *Please arrive on time. Start time subject to change.
Tickets $17 +s/c | $20+ s/c at the door

THE ADVENTURERS

Eric Fell as The Dungeon Master
Ian Boothby as Benoit the Anointed, the Half-Elf Cleric
Joanna Gaskell as Freya, the Elf Warlock
Barbara Beall as Ingrid, the Halfling Fighter
Ellen MacNevin as Belle Strummer, the Half-Elf Ranger
Allen Morrison as Spitz Lube’n, the Human Wizard
Shaun Stewart as Brask Hellbeard, the Dwarf Bard

More monsters! More Magic! More Mayhem! More Off-Brand soda!

Twitter: @critshow
www.criticalhitshow.com
www.facebook.com/dndlive

Toronto comic Jacob Balshin is moving to Vancouver for two months. To celebrate his time in Vancouver, Jacob will be performing at the Rio Theatre on his last day in the city.

An award winning stand-up, Jacob was named one of Toronto’s Top 10 Influencers of 2025 by the Toronto Star and has also been featured on CBC’s New Wave of Comedy, where he has amassed millions of views online. Do not miss your chance to see one of Canada’s fastest rising stars!

(Jacob would like to note that he rented out the Rio Theatre on his own credit card. So come support a Canadian comedian who is truly trying to do this all on his own.)

Wednesday, July 30
Doors 6:30 pm | Event 7:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Early Bird (Until July 1) ? $17+ s/c

General Admission $25+ s/c | At the door $30 + s/c

Connect with Jacob on Instagram @Jacobbalshin

For Pride this year the Rio Theatre is rolling out the rainbow carpet to welcome back Vancouver Pride & the return of Dandy's BIG GAY CABARET 2025! And whom better to be our honorable ambassador to the world and fellow Gaynadians than our very own Gayest of the Gays, Queerest of the Queers, Dandy!

Celebrate Vancouver at the most anticipated cabaret of the year! Runner up in Georgia Straight's BEST OF VANCOUVER 2023 and host of the year 2024, DANDY (tiktok star @dandyandfriends) curates a cabinet of charismatic, Queer, cabaret creators. Live singing, dance, death defying circus feats, drag, burlesque and some fun surprises. You might not be gay when you sit down, but research shows that attending this show will make you 69% gayer!. HUZZAH!

If you don't come to this show, you are homophobic! So get your tickets now, Darling.

Friday, August 1
Doors 7:15 pm | Show 8:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Early Bird tickets available until July 1, SAVE $5 off each ticket!

Main Floor Assigned $30 + s/c | $35 at the door
VIP - First 4 rows $40 + s/c **VIP ticket holders also get an interactive prop bag to be used during the show!**
The 'We Are Family' 4 Pack $25 a ticket + s/c (Available online only)

But wait, there's more!

The Rio Theatre lobby and bar will be open between shows and serving up Pride inspired cocktails, mocktails and your favorite gay anthems. Don't forget to pick up a Rio Theatre Pride Edition T-shirt, check out the merch booth and pose, vogue, pose at our pride photo backdrop. Don't forget to tag us in your pics @riotheatre & @dandyandfriends

Featuring:

Ruth Ordare
Queen Kong
Melrose Twist
Jordy Matheson
and
Deviant Dancing Dandies

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About your Host:

Dandy (he/him) is the award-winning host made popular on TikTok for his viral videos promoting queer joy! Winner of Host of the Year 2024 for Vancouver International Burlesque Festival and awarded runner up in the Georgia Straight’s BEST OF VANCOUVER for his show Drag Attack! – you can catch him regularly on stage in his shows at the iconic Rio Theatre in Vancouver, or touring regularly this year between LA and New York City. His all new series Dandyland, which highlights businesses, organizations, and artists in the lower-mainland’s LGBT Community, premiered this Summer on Optik TV and was nominated by the Costume Designers Guild Awards for Excellence in Short Form Design 2024 thanks to already award winning, multi-talented Costume Designer, Rafaella Rabinovich

@dandyandfriends

Guess who's back to keep Vancouver laughing... The East Van Laugh RioT is pleased to welcome the summertime return of comedian Sammy Obeid - with all-new material! We just can't keep him off our stage!

Sunday, August 10
Doors 4:00 pm | Show 5:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Early Bird tickets available until May 12, midnight.

Adult Balcony (General Admission) $39 + s/c
Adult Main Floor (Assigned Seating) $48+ s/c
VIP Meet n' Greet (Rows 2-6, centre section) $65+ s/c
VVIP Meet n' Greet (Front Row, centre section) $75+ s/c
Group Ticket Pricing (Minimum 4) $43 (ea)+ s/c (online only)

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Lebanese-Palestinian American and born in Oakland California, Sammy Obeid double-majored in Business and Mathematics at UC Berkeley and then turned down a job at Google to be a comedian.

Now the host of 100 Humans on Netflix, he’s also appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing and America's Got Talent, as well as TBS’s Conan, and is best known for his world record of performing comedy 1,001 nights in a row, a story featured in both Time Magazine and The New York Times.

Connect on Instagram @sammyobeid
Connect on Facebook
Connect on TikTok @sammyobeidthem
Connect on X @sammyobeid

KEVIN NEALON
Presented by Gotpop? Concerts

The Rio Theatre is pleased to welcome Kevin Nealon to the stage for a night of standup comedy on Sunday, March 24.

Sunday, August 24
Doors 6:00 pm | Show 7:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Main Floor (Assigned) $85+ s/c
Balcony (General Admission) $75+ s/c

Kevin Nealon is an Emmy and SAG-nominated actor and comedian who sets himself apart from other comedic performers with his unique sense of humor, dry wit and likable demeanor. Nealon is best known for his nine-year stint as a cast member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, and received critical acclaim for his role in the hit Showtime series Weeds. Kevin currently produces and hosts his digital series Hiking with Kevin, and tours his stand-up globally. In 2022 he released his, I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame. Part art book, part memoir -- the book is full of original full-color caricatures Kevin has created along with funny, endearing personal essays about his famous friends.

Nealon’s extensive television credits include the CBS sitcom, Man With a Plan, in which he starred alongside Matt LeBlanc; Showtime’s Weeds, which ran for eight seasons. Additional television roles include two critically acclaimed stand-up
specials for Showtime and a number of appearances on Hot In Cleveland, Franklin & Bash, Monk, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Still Standing.

Kevin has also has found great comedic success in his extensive film career. In Anger Management, he played opposite Jack Nicholson and fellow SNL comedian, Adam Sandler. He and Sandler also teamed up in Eight Crazy Nights, The Wedding Singer, Happy Gilmore, Just Go With It, Blended, and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, the latter of which grossed over $200 million worldwide. In Joe Dirt, Nealon joined another SNL alumnus David Spade. Additional film credits include Daddy Day Care with Eddie Murphy, Good Boy with Molly Shannon, Bucky Larsen: Born to be a Star with Nick Swardson, Roxanne with Steve Martin and the cult hit Grandma’s Boy, also with Nick Swardson and Jonah Hill.

As one of the longest running cast members on NBC’s Saturday Night Live (1986-1995), Nealon created some of the show’s most memorable characters, including ‘The Subliminal Man’ and ‘Hans and Franz.’ Nealon’s recurring role as an anchor on ‘Weekend Update’ helped make the sketch a show staple. In 1988, he earned an Emmy nomination as part of the SNL writing team. In 2008, Nealon released his first book, Yes, You’re Pregnant, But What About Me? - a comical look at the male perspective of pregnancy.

Currently, Kevin resides in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Ashwyn Singh comes to the Rio Theatre's stage with his latest show on Thursday, September 18.

Thursday, September 18
Doors 6:00 pm | Show 6:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

VVIP (Front Row) $45 + s/c
VIP (Rows B-F) $35+ s/c
Main Floor $30+ s/c
Group Pass (4 Tickets) $108+ s/c

Ashwyn Singh is a standup comedian, musician, and writer whose work blends incisive humor with heartfelt social commentary. An Indian immigrant turned Canadian resident, Ashwyn draws on his unique perspective to explore themes of cultural identity, immigration, and family with wit and relatability.

His viral Desi Translations series, which has over 40 million views, celebrates the artistry of Hindi and Urdu lyrics by reinterpreting everyday English phrases. Beyond social media, Ashwyn’s standup comedy tackles social issues like immigration, religion, politics, mental health, and global conflicts, highlighting the hypocrisy in human behavior with sharp humor.

Featured on Canada’s Got Talent, CBC’s The Debaters, and major comedy festivals like Winnipeg and Halifax, Ashwyn has opened for acclaimed acts such as Mark Normand, Sammy Obeid, and Zarna Garg, establishing himself as a standout talent in comedy.

LADIES OF VANCOUVER ARE YOU READY?!

The Magic Men Australia "LARGER THAN LIFE" WORLD TOUR is hitting town, and this is your chance to witness the ultimate, high-energy, jaw-dropping, pulse-racing male revue show LIVE!

Featuring TIKTOK SENSATION WILL PARFITT! With millions of fans worldwide, this Channing Tatum lookalike is ready to bring the heat, charm, and signature moves that have made him a global sensation! Expect an all-star lineup of chiseled hunks, heart-racing performances, and electrifying stage presence that will leave you breathless and begging for more!

Round up your squad for the ULTIMATE Girls’ Night Out! Get ready for a night packed with jaw-dropping entertainment, cheeky surprises, and non-stop fun. TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST – DON’T MISS OUT! Secure yours NOW and experience the Magic Men Australia WORLD TOUR LIVE!

Saturday, September 27
Doors 7:00 PM | Event 8:00 PM *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Ticket levels

Premium - Main Floor (first 5 rows): $85 + s/c
•   Exclusive Early Entry: Doors open 30 minutes earlier than regular door opening time.
•   Prime Seating: Seated closest to the action for the best viewing experience.
•   Stage Participation Opportunity: Approximately 40 audience members will have the chance to get on stage.
•   Meet & Greet & Photos: Early access to the meet-and-greet team for photo opportunities.
•   Early Merchandise Sales: Priority access to merchandise sales before general entry, ensuring a quicker, smoother experience.

Deluxe - Main Floor: $65 + s/c
•   Second-Tier Seating: The second closest seating category to the stage, offering a great view of the show.
•   Meet & Greet & Photos: Enjoy the opportunity to meet the team and take photos.
•   Stage Participation Opportunity: A  smaller chance to be invited on stage during the show over Premium.

General Admission - Balcony: $40 + s/c
•   Non-Reserved Seating
Entry to the show.
Full stage performance experience.

This Rio Theatre gift certificate is good for entry to any single regular screening and includes one medium popcorn, one medium fountain beverage, and one small candy. If you prefer a physical card, this gift certificate is also available for purchase from our conession stand during open business hours.