FAQs

The Rio Cinema is located in Dalston, in the London borough of Hackney.

Our address is Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2PB.

We are nearby to Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junction Overground Stations, as well as having great bus connections close to us.

We are open 15 minutes before the first screening of the day.

Our opening hours change on a day-to-day basis so please check our schedule for the earliest screening to find out when we will be opening.

Normally, we will at least be open by 3pm, but most days we will likely be open earlier than this.

We are easily accessible by public transport, being a short distance from two TFL Overground stations and having our very own bus stop right outside!

Dalston Kingsland Overground is the closest station to the Rio Cinema, about 250m away.

• Please be aware: Dalston Kingsland Overground does not have step-free access.
• Directions: Turn left as soon as you exit Dalston Kingsland Overground Station, walking north stay on the same side of the road and you will soon reach us!

Dalston Junction Overground is slightly further but still very close, about 500m away.

• Dalston Junction does have step-free access to all platforms.
• Directions: Exit Dalston Junction Station from the northern facing entrance. Cross the pedestrian crossing and walk north, up Kingsland Road. Once you reach Kingsland Shopping Centre or Ridley Road Market cross the road (to be on the same side as Dalston Kingsland Overground station). Keep walking up the road, and you will soon reach the Rio!

Rio Cinema Bus Stop is located outside of our cinema, on Kingsland High Street. Rio Cinema Bus Stop is serviced by bus numbers 67, 76, 149, 243, 488.

• Bus Stop S is on the same side of the road to us. When you get off the bus, turn left and walk south about 50m to the front doors of the Rio.
• Bus Stop T is on the opposite side of the road. If you will need to walk about 100m up or down the road you will reach a zebra crossing to safely cross the street.

Yes, there are bike stands directly outside the cinema. They are on the pedestrianised part of John Cambell Road, between us and the corner shop. There are also more bike stands just outside the large foyer windows, on Kingsland High Street. However, please be very wary however, that these bike racks are on public property and the Rio Cinema is not responsible for the safety and security of your bike when you leave them here, so please be sure to lock up your bike as securely as possible when parking here. We recommend using two locks if possible.

• Gillet Street Car Park is the closest council owned car park, available 24/7 and with 31 spaces. Location: Gillet Street, N16 8JH (near to Dalston Kingsland Overground Station). Maximum stay: 3 hours. Control hours: Mon to Sat, 7am to 7pm. (Outside of these hours, parking is free). Cost: £2.30 - £5.30 (dependent upon type of vehicle).


• Kingsland Shopping Centre Car Park is a bit further way, with some 24/7 parking available and with over 350 spaces. Location: Kingsland Shopping Centre, London E8 2LX. Maximum stay: Indefinitely. Control hours: Fulltime. Cost: £5 for 2 hours, £10 for 3 hours and £20 for up to 24 hours.

Unfortunately, no. As a charity, we have to ask that you do not bring your own food or drinks in, unless it is water. We do not make much money on ticket sales, and therefore rely on revenue from the bar and cafe. We have a wonderful array of vegetarian and vegan choices, both sweet and savoury, and try to keep our prices as fair and low as possible. Our stock is entirely our profit, so by buying from us here, you will directly contribute to the longevity of the Rio Cinema.

Please be aware, some screenings require a bag search on entry. If you do bring your own food and drink in, it may be confiscated until after the screening. However, your food will be kept safe and you can retrieve confiscated goods from a member of staff once the film has finished.

It is strictly against our licence to bring in alcohol from outside the premises.

At certain times, The Rio Cinema has SIA Licenced Security and Door Supervisors to ensure the safety of the customers and staff. We have a duty of care and protection for our community and all who come to the Rio Cinema, and after a number of incidents we understand it is a necessary precaution. The Rio Cinema has a strict zero tolerance policy towards harassment and violence and anyone who does not respect this will be required to leave the premises.

Depending on the screening, we ask as a measure of security that you would kindly permit a short bag search on entry to the cinema. This is to ensure that illicit, illegal or banned substances or items are not being brought into the venue. Security may also confiscate any outside food or drink you bring into the venue, so please be aware of this.

We do! Please contact us as soon as you think you may have lost anything. Provide your contact information and specific details of the item, and details about your visit (such as Date, Time, Screen, Seat Number).

For regular found items, (such as clothes, hats, books, umbrellas) we will store it in our lost property box for one month. After this, we donate what we are able to to the second-hand clothing charity Traid.

If the found item is deemed to be an expensive or precious item (such as a phone, wallet or jewellery), we will be sure to store this in a safe location, for up to three months before disposal.

Yes.

No, e-cigarettes are not allowed in the auditorium, and we do not permit smoking of any kind.

Our staff have a legal requirement to ask for I.D. from anyone that they believe could be under age. This applies to age restricted films and alcohol sales.

• For age-restricted transactions (such as a rated film or alcohol), we accept: Passports, Driver's licenses, and CitizenCards.
• For Concessions Tickets, we accept: Freedom Passes and CEA Cards.
• For student concession tickets, we accept Student Passes and School Passes. However, they must show your name, photo and proof your card is valid and in date (to ensure that you're currently enrolled in education).

If a member of staff requests that you provide I.D to complete an age-restricted transaction, such as a film or alcohol, and cannot present a valid I.D, the sale will be cancelled.

Yes, the Rio Cinema is wheelchair-accessible.

• Screen 1 Stalls on the ground floor are fully accessible, and we have 3 spaces for a wheelchair users available. More spaces can be made available upon request.
• Screen 2 is accessible via a lift, and has 1 space for a wheelchair user.
• We have 2 accessible toilets. One on the ground floor for customers in Screen 1 and Foyer, and the second is in the basement for customers in Screen 2.

Please get in touch with us if you want to ensure we have our wheelchair spaces available. We apologise, at present the Screen 1 Circle is not wheelchair accessible.

Yes we do. We are now able to process CEA transactions online.

To do so, you must enter your CEA Card Number in the 'Giftcard / Voucher' entry field in the checkout. Once doing so, the cost of 1 ticket will be deducted from your final total.

If you wish to use a CEA card to book tickets, you may do this online, over the phone, or in the cinema.

We do screen Hard-of-Hearing films. We try to show a HOH version once a week, though unfortuntaley this is not always possible.

hearing Please look for our HOH symbol, on our website, posters and programmes.

You can find out more information about our Hard-of-Hearing screenings here.

We can only permit trained assistance dogs (otherwise referred to as guide dogs or service dogs), who assist in helping people with the effects of their disability, such as visual impairments, epilepsy, diabetes or mobility functions. We do not allow emotional support animals or pets to be permitted inside the cinema at any times - apologies.

If you would like to bring your trained assistance dog to the Rio, feel free to let us know beforehand and we can assist in helping select the most suitable seating. During your visit, we would be grateful if you could keep your assistance dog on a recognisable leash or harness, and to show us the appropriate documentation, though this is not mandatory.

You can find out what's playing on our Homepage or check out our Full Programme section, including all of our upcoming Special events and Festivals. We also have hi-vis posters hung up and pink A6 programmes available in the cinema, with the listings for each week.

You are also able to sign up for our weekly email newsletter, available to our Rio Members. (Don't worry, our cheapest membership tier is free to sign up!)

Be sure to follow our social media accounts for frequent updates too.

We release a little more than one week in advance, every single week. This is to keep our current and upcoming programme of films as fresh as we possibly can! Some releases and special events may be programmed further in advance.

Be sure to stay up to date on what we're screening, by checking out our website or socials, joining our newsletter, or dropping into the cinema to pick up a weekly homemade flier.

It depends on the screening...

• For new releases, no, the advertised time is the start of the ads and trailers pre show which lasts around 20 minutes, after which the feature promptly starts. We therefore advise customers to arrive for or before the advertised time as screenings can get very busy with queues forming to access both the bar and the auditorium.
• Special events and festival screenings generally don't have a pre-show or only a short live introduction, and will tend to start at the advertised time of the feature. We therefore urge customers to arrive early for these screenings.

Latecomers are allowed in up to 45 minutes after doors open and programme begins, (which is approximately 20 minutes after the feature has started).

Any later than this, and we refuse the right to deny entry. Please be aware that tickets are non-refundable after the screening has started.

Each Special Events may have a different rules regarding latecomers, which is at the Event Organise and Duty Manager's discretion. If you think you might be late to a Special Event, give us a call or email to let us know and we can try our best to help.

You can purchase a ticket online through our website, over the phone or in the cinema.

Please be aware, the box office opens 15 minutes before the first film of the day. We may not always be able to answer your call, but if not please leave your name, number and nature of your call and we will endeavour to call you back as soon as we can.

No, you don't.

If you don't have a paper ticket, please instead show us your e-ticket instead. This will have been sent to your email.

If you do not have an e-ticket email from us, or your phone has died, please speak to a member of staff who will be able to help you.

No, tickets are non-refundable. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Providing you act us at least an hour before your booked screening, we are offer the options of either:

• Swapping your tickets to a different time or a different day. (This option is best if you know which showing you wish to attend instead).
• Swapping your tickets for Credit, which is accredits the amount of your tickets to your Rio Account for use at a later date. (This option is best if you are unsure and need more time deciding which showing to attend, or if may not be able to attend for a while).

Please note: You will only be able to do a Credit Swap and receive Credit if you have a Rio Cinema account. You will only be able to perform a ticket or credit swap once per transaction.

Up to an hour before the start time of the programme, yes.

We recommend doing this is you know exactly which screening you wish to come to.

The simplest method to exchange your tickets for credit is online yourself, by performing a Credit Swap. You are only able to do this if you have an existing Rio account. Once the credit is added to your account, you can then buy new tickets, ensuring to select Credit as a payment option at the checkout.

If you do not have an account, please call us or email with your contact details and booking information and which screening you wish to swap to.

Please be aware, different days and different times have different prices. You may be charged a surplus, or be refunded change as credit to your Rio account, dependent on how much your replacement tickets cost.

No, unfortunately we do not offer the ability to reserve ahead of time.

We do however offer the ability to book in advance for any showing that is currently for sale. Please contact us early if you would like to book and pay for a ticket via phone and you think a film will sell out. Furthermore, we are hoping to soon announce a Waiting List system for our popular sell-out screenings... Watch this space!

The cost of the ticket depends on the day and time of day you're coming to watch a film.

Weekend Peak Times - Friday after 5pm, all day Saturday, all day Sunday & Bank Holiday Mondays.

• (£14 standard, £10.50 concession).

Weekday Evenings - after 6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.

• (£11.50 standard, £9.50 concession).

Weekday Matinees - before 6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.

• (£8.50 standard, £7 concession).

Money-conscious Mondays - all day Monday.

• (£7 standard, £6 concession).

We also offer a reduced ticket rate with our Rio Kino, Classic or Lifetime memberships, which will reduce your ticket price up to £3 dependant on the showing. Please note: Special Events prices may vary, and will not always receive a membership discont.

This depends on whether you are a member, or a non-member.

As a non-member, the cheapest days and times to come to the cinema to watch standard screenings are:

• Monday, all day (£7 standard, £6 concession).
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fri Matinees, before 6pm (£8.50 standard, £7 concession).

As a member, we offer discounted tickets, the cheapest days and times to come are:

• Monday, all day (£6 standard member, £5 concession member).
• Tuesday, all day (£5 standard member, £5 concession member).
• Wednesday and Thursday, before 6pm (£7 standard member, £5.50 concession member).
• Friday, before 5pm (£5 standard member, £5 concession member).

We also offer cheap tickets for particular community screenings, clubs and events.

• Classic Matinee (£2.50 for those over 60 years).
• Pink Palace Film Club (£5 standard).

Concession ticket prices are eligible to be claimed by:

• Under 18s
• Students
• Over 65s
• People with disabilities
• People on income support
• NHS Workers

Please note: proof of eligibility may be required on entry.

This is dependent on how you received your ticket or receipt.

• If you have received an e-ticket or e-receipt sent to your email, you can find your order number or booking number directly beneath the QR code.
• If you have received a paper ticket from the cinema then you can also find your order number beneath the bar code.
• If you have not received an email confirmation, or a paper of your transaction, and you wish to find out - please contact us over the phone, through our website contact form, or by speaking to us in the cinema.

Click on the link on the top right of our website to sign up for an account. person

With an account, you have the option to either become a free Friend of the Rio, or if you want even more benefits you can pay to become a Rio Classic or Kino Member.

We would love to have you join our film-fanatic family! Right now we offer three tiers, two of which are of paid memberships (and one which is free)!

The Classic Membership

• (£50 for a Solo membership, or £90 for a Double Act)

The Kino Membership

• (£15 for a Solo membership).

Both of these membership tiers provide a wide range of perks, discounts on every day tickets, including 20% off the bar, a free ticket on your birthday, the ability to collect 35 points per £1 spend, and much more! However, the Classic also gives you 4 Free tickets to use!

Friend of the Rio

• (Free to join).

You can find out more information or sign up on our Membership Page.

It's essentially our free mini-membership / basic account that gives you access to £5 Tuesday tickets, and the ability to accumulate loyalty points that you can then redeem against free tickets or popcorn!

We also have paid memberships available for purchase, which entitles you to a bunch of additional A-list advantages.

• Registering for our free Rio Friend membership will allow you more features when booking tickets, the ability sign up for our weekly newsletter or other niche bulletins, as well as accumulate loyalty points with each visit - which are eligible to redeem in the form of popcorn, tickets and more!
• A paid Classic, Kino or Lifetime membership will gives you all this mentioned above, a 20% discount off at the bar and up to £3 off everyday tickets, alongside a number of free tickets (depending on your membership tier).

To find out more about our Memberships, click here.

Sadly, we no longer sell Lifetime memberships, however, we hope to one day sell them again! Watch this space...

We will always welcome and honour our Lifetime members. If you are a legacy Lifetime member, then you're entitled to 8 free tickets per year and much more.

If you have any issues with your Lifetime membership please let us know and we'll be happy to resolve any issues as quickly as we can.

For all - Friends of the Rio, Classic, Kino and Lifetime Members - we now have a loyalty point system. Each time you make a purchase at the Rio, your account will be credited with points, which over time will accumulate and can then be redeemed against some special Rio Rewards.

If you are a Friend of the Rio, you'll receive 16 points per £1 spend.

If you're a Classic or a Kino member, then every £1 you spend at the Rio you receive 35 points.

Lifetime members receive 70 points per £1 spend.

• Medium Popcorn - 1000 points
• Cinema Ticket - 3500 points

We're looking to expand our range of rewards very soon, so keep a look out!

The Rio Cinema uses symbols on our website and in our posters and programmes to denote our special screenings.

stars Special Events
closed_caption_off Closed Caption Subtitled
hearing Hard-of-Hearing Subtitled
child_friendly Parent and Baby Cinema Club
coffee Classic Matinee
star_purple500 Pink Palace Queer Film Club
question_answer Q&A, Panel or Discussion
mode_night Late Night Event
movie_filter Film Festival
local_bar Ludski Bar Event

We host a range of community events. These include:

child_friendly Parent & Baby Cinema Club
A weekly Tuesday morning matinee screening for new parents and baby film buffs (under the age of one) to enjoy the latest cinema releases in a relaxed and dimly lit atmosphere. We offer an exclusive coffee and cake deal, and have space for buggy parking. Please note: anyone attending without a baby may be turned away.

coffee Classic Matinee
A monthly social screening with a discounted ticket rate of £2.50 for all over 60s. This screening is an afternoon matinee, taking place one per month, always on a Wednesday at 2.30pm. Films range from newer movies to timeless classics, and feature an intermission midway through the film. Not to mention, we offer free tea or coffee, cake and biscuits to all attendees.

star_purple500 Pink Palace Queer Cinema Club
A regularly-occurring award-winning informal lo-fi queer film club and safe space, which takes space in our basement bar. The films are often introduced and the audience is encouraged to engage with queer film history, and to stick around for a chat afterwards.

school School Screenings
Available to schools and colleges as a hire package with a discounted community rate. These showings are early morning matinees that take place during term time. Normally, schools like to screen something relevant to what their modules are currently covering. Screenings in Spanish French and other languages (with English subtitles) are a great tool for engaging students in languages. We also cater to more "fun" movies around the Christmas and summer holidays.

Parent & Baby screenings take place on Tuesdays mornings at 11.30am and are every week, unless otherwise specified. During the school holidays we show family matinees, which may impact the schedule of P&B.

Our next P&B screenings can be found listed here - Parent & Baby Club.

Classic Matinee screenings take place on the middle Wednesday, of each month (normally being the second or third full week of the month). Our Classic Matinees always start at 2.30pm.

Our next Classic Matinee screenings can be found listed here - Classic Matinee.

Yes, you most certainly can hire the Rio.

We are available for a wide range of events, such as private screenings, film premieres, Q&As, music gigs, shoots, conferences, book launches, birthday parties, live podcasts, school screenings, art exhibitions and much more... Just get in touch and let us know what you want to put on! You can contact us and find out more information including timeslots and pricing on our Hire page.

Yes, where the certificate allows. If it is for a public screening, then it is best to book in advance to be sure you get all the seats you need. Especially, if it's a large group please contact us for a discount.

We also do special private school screenings on weekday mornings during term time, often showing educational, themed or requested films. If you are interested please reach out to us, through our Community contact form.

No, sadly we can't offer the cinema to screen your film or host your event for free.

Even if you guarantee a bar spend, we are unable to accommodate these sorts of requests currently. Running an independent cinema isn't cheap, but we aim to keep hire fees as competitive as possible for what we have to offer. We also offer hire discounts:

• If you are a Rio Classic, Bravo or Lifetime member, you are entitled to 10% discount on your hire fee.
• If your event is on behalf of or in collaboration with a charity, non-profit or not-for-profit you may be eligible for a discounted Charity Hire Rate.
• If your event is on behalf of a school or college, fundraising for a charity or local cause, or fulfils our community screening criteria, then you may be eligible for a reduced discount Community rate.

Please reach out more information or to find out more about our if you are eligible for a discount.

The Rio is one of London's few remaining 1930's cinemas (formerly known as a picture palace), complete with its original auditorium, as well as a stage.

• Stalls: The ground floor of the Screen 1 auditorium. It can accommodate 170, including 3 spaces for those who use a wheelchair.
• Circle: The balcony level of the Screen 1 auditorium, upstairs on the first floor. This can accommodate 214 customers, but is unfortunately not currently wheelchair accessible.

We open the circle only for busy screenings and special events, such as our monthly Classic Matinee. However, we may have some exciting news coming soon - so watch this space!

No, tickets are non-refundable. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Providing you act us at least an hour before your booked screening, we are offer the options of either:

• Swapping your tickets to a different time or a different day. (This option is best if you know which showing you wish to attend instead).
• Swapping your tickets for Credit, which is accredits the amount of your tickets to your Rio Account for use at a later date. (This option is best if you are unsure and need more time deciding which showing to attend, or if may not be able to attend for a while).

Please note: You will only be able to do a Credit Swap and receive Credit if you have a Rio Cinema account. You will only be able to perform a ticket or credit swap once per transaction.

Yes, the Rio Cinema does accept cash, except for £50 notes.

At the start of the pandemic, the Rio became a contactless payment venue. Nevertheless, we understand that some of our patrons may be unable to pay by card, and so we once again offer the ability to pay for your transaction in cash, if required. Please mention this to a member of staff who is serving you.

Please note: While we are able to accept cash, we still prefer contactless and card payments where possible as we do not carry large amounts change. Thank you.

Yes, we are now accepting Amex.

Absolutely! You can buy a gift card here. After purchase, you will receive an email with your gift card code.

Put as much money as you want on it, and then it can be used towards tickets, food and drinks, or anything else available to purchase at the Rio.

You can also do this by coming in or calling us - however you will need to come in to collect the voucher if you want a physical copy.

• Go through the normal process of booking a ticket and click on Payment.
• At the bottom of the page, click on the Add Gift Card button.
• Enter your gift card or voucher number there without dashes or hyphens. (For example, V-12345-ABC-DEF should be written as V12345ABCDEF).
• The amount on the voucher will show up above the button. If you click it, this amount will be subtracted from your purchase cost.

Unless stated otherwise, Gift cards and Voucher will expire 12 months after activation date, which is normally the same as the purchase date.

This rule also applies to any other type of vouchers such as complementary tickets and credit notes.

If you have credit in your Rio membership Account, from a ticket credit swap for instance, this will not expire. It will only expire if you delete your Rio account.

All credit is non-refundable. Credit is only valid to be used at the Rio Cinema. However, the credit in your account won't expire, unless you delete your Rio account.