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 Cover of the December 2024 issue, featuringRobert Pattinson inMickey 17 | |
| Editor | Nick de Semlyen |
|---|---|
| Categories | Film |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | 73,291 per issue (Jan – Dec 2023)[1] Print and digital editions. |
| First issue | May 1989; 36 years ago (1989-05) |
| Company | Bauer Media Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | London |
| Language | English |
| Website | empireonline |
| ISSN | 0957-4948 |
Empire is a Britishfilm magazine published monthly byBauer Media Group. The first issue was published in May 1989.
David Hepworth ofEmap, the publisher of British music magazinesQ andSmash Hits, proposed the idea of launching a film magazine similar toQ.[2][3] They recruitedSmash Hits editorBarry McIlheney to edit the new magazine, with Hepworth as Editorial Director.[3] Hepworth drafted a one-page proposal outlining the magazine's objectives, including a commitment to reviewing and rating every film released in UK cinema.[3] The proposal also stated, "Empire believes that movies can sometimes be art, but they should always be fun."[2] The first edition (June/July 1989) was published in May 1989, featuringDennis Quaid andWinona Ryder on the cover for the filmGreat Balls of Fire!. The magazine achieved its initial sales target of 50,000 copies.[3]
Film reviews were given a star rating between 1 and 5, with no half-stars.[4]
McIlheney served as editor for the first 44 issues, after which assistant editor Phil Thomas, who had been with the magazine since its inception, took over from the March 1993 issue.[2] In 1995, Thomas became managing editor andQ Features EditorAndrew Collins was appointedEmpire's editor from issue 73 (July 1995). However, after 3 issues, Collins transitioned toQ following the departure ofDanny Kelly, andEmpire's Features Editor Mark Salisbury was promoted to Editor.[5]
In 2006, a compilation of the magazine's film reviews was published as theEmpire Film Guide.[4]
In early 2008,Bauer acquiredEmap Consumer Media.
Empire has had eleven editors:
Empire reviews both mainstream films andart films, but feature articles concentrate on the former.Ian Freer is a regular reviewer for the magazine.
As well as film news, previews, and reviews,Empire has some other regular features. Each issue (with the exception of issues 108–113) features aClassic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene. The first such classic scene to be featured was the "I coulda been a contender" scene fromOn the Waterfront.[11]
TheRe.View section covers Blu-ray and DVD news and releases.Kim Newman's Movie Dungeon is a regular feature in theRe.View section, in which criticKim Newman reviews the most obscure releases, mostly low-budget horror movies. Newman has written forEmpire since the first issue.[4]
How Much Is A Pint of Milk? presents celebrities' answers to silly or unusual questions, including the question "How much is a pint of milk?" This is intended as a guide to the chosen celebrity's contact with reality, and as such can be more informative than a direct interview by reporting some surprising responses.Willem Dafoe was the first interviewee in issue 59 (May 1994).[11]
Each magazine includes a "Spine Quote", in which a relatively challenging quote is printed on the spine of the magazine. There are usually some obvious and obscure links from the quote to the main features of that month's edition. Readers are invited to identify the film source and the links to win a prize.
A regular feature sinceRaging Bull featured in issue 167 (May 2003),[11] the Empire Masterpiece is a two-page essay on a film selected byEmpire in theRe.View section. Only a few issues since the first masterpiece feature have not featured one – 179, 196–198 and 246. Issue 241 (June 2009) had directorFrank Darabont select 223 masterpieces.[11][12]L.A. Confidential andMagnolia have been featured twice.[citation needed]
Where Are They Now? featuring past film celebrities and updating on their current professional and personal status first appeared in issue 28 (October 1991) featuringMark Hamill andJohn Savage.[11]
My Movie Mastermind was another regular in which a celebrity was given questions about the films they were in or directed. Celebrities range fromQuentin Tarantino andChristopher Lee (who were at the top of the scoreboard) toJohn Carpenter andMichael Keaton (who were at the bottom of the scoreboard). The feature first appeared in issue 212 (February 2007) withTerry Gilliam.[11]
In 2001,Empire published a series of guides to the best films by genre including science fiction, horror, crime, action, and comedy.[13]
In 2001,Empire published a special issue onSteven Spielberg as part of The Directors Collection.[14]
Empire published a special 15th anniversary issue in June 2004 by which time the magazine had reviewed 4,240 theatrical films.Nicole Kidman was named "actress of our lifetime" andKevin Spacey was named "actor of our lifetime". A list of the 15 most influential films of the preceding 15 years was featured.
As part of its 18th birthday issue published in June 2007Empire published a list of the top 18-rated moments in film. They also selected the 50 greatest films rated with an18 certificate.[citation needed]
Empire occasionally polls readers to find out what their favourite films are.
A poll ofEmpire readers was published in September 2001 and listedStar Wars (1977) as the greatest movie of all time.[15]
In March 2006, a readers' poll of The 201 Greatest Movies of All Time hadThe Shawshank Redemption (1994) as the number one choice.
The list was selected in September 2008 by over 10,000Empire readers, 150 filmmakers, and 50 film critics. The list was accompanied by many different covers, each of which went on sale. The list was topped byThe Godfather (1972) and the list's most represented director wasSteven Spielberg, who had eleven films in the top 500.[16]
In July 2014, during their 25th anniversary year, a readers' poll of The 301 Greatest Movies of All Time was topped byThe Empire Strikes Back (1980).[17]
In 2017,Empire surveyed five thousand readers to produce a list of the 100 greatest films ever made which was once again topped byThe Godfather.[18]
In 2021, they combined reader votes with Empire critics "choices" to create a top 100 list topped byThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.[19]
In June 2005, a poll of 10,000 readers was asked to name the greatest film director of all time. In a list of forty directors,Steven Spielberg was granted the honour of greatest director.
A poll ofEmpire readers was conducted in 2008 to create a list of the 100 greatest movie characters, withTyler Durden fromFight Club (1999) listed first.[20]
In June 2015,Empire's readers named the greatest film characters of all time led byIndiana Jones.[21]
Empire launched their firstpodcast,The Empire Podcast, in March 2012.[22] Thepodcast is released weekly and is hosted byChris Hewitt, alongsideHelen O'Hara and James Dyer, as well as regularly featuring otherEmpire journalists such as Amon Warmann, Ben Travis andTerri White. The podcasts feature film news, listener questions, interviews, and reviews, as well as regularly having 'Spoiler Specials' which take an in-depth look at a single film, includingplot spoilers. Many of these episodes are included on a separate subscription-only feed that costs £2.99 per month.[23]
In September 2018,Empire launched a second podcast focused on television shows, calledThe Pilot TV Podcast. It is hosted by James Dyer,Terri White and Boyd Hilton.
In July 2022, the podcast won in the "Best Live Podcast" category at theBritish Podcast Awards following a live episode held inKings Place, London to celebrate the podcast’s 500th episode that included returning favourites of lethal cunning, as well as guests such asBrett Goldstein,Tom Holland andJohnny Knoxville.[24][25]
From 1996 until 2018,Empire organised the annualEmpire Awards, voted for by readers of the magazine, which were originally sponsored bySony Ericsson, and from 2009 sponsored byJameson.[26] The last awards were held in 2018 and after that the awards were discontinued for undisclosed reasons.
