It’s up to the provincial government to decide if movie theatres can serve alcohol, the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch says.

Vancouver’s Rio Theatre is in danger of shutting down after its owners learned last week that its liquor licence — issued only for live events — forbids the cinema to screen any films.

LCLB general manager Karen Ayers said that condition shouldn’t come as a surprise to the theatre’s management team, which has been in discussions with the regulator since last spring.

“They’ve been told repeatedly, orally and in writing, that once they obtain a liquor licence they won’t be able to show films,” Ayers said. “Movie theatres, under the Motion Picture Act, cannot have a licence. That’s the law. We’re precluded from issuing a liquor licence to theatres.”

Any change would have to come in the form of a provincial government amendment to the law, Ayers said.

Several groups, including the Rio Theatre and Cineplex Odeon, are lobbying the province for the change.

Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal will introduce a motion to get city support for the amendment.

Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario already allow movie theatres to serve alcohol, Ayers said.

“The sky isn’t falling there,” said NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert. “The liquor laws need to be updated, for sure. This is a case of bureaucracy gone mad.”

Chandra Herbert presented a petition with more than 2,000 signatures to the province last year, urging it to change legislation that prevents theatres from obtaining liquor licences. But she has yet to receive a reply from Solicitor General Shirley Bond.

Bond was unavailable for comment Monday.