Empire

About Empire

Empire is the world's most widely read film magazine — or so its publisher claims, and few would argue. Since 1989 it has been the bible of British cinemagoers: the monthly glossy where Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse gems alike are dissected with passion, expertise and a uniquely irreverent sense of humour. With world-class writers, critics, photographers and illustrators, and relationships with the biggest filmmakers and actors on the planet that allow it to pull off content no one else could, Empire has spent more than 35 years proving that print film journalism can thrive in the digital age.

Published monthly in London by Bauer Media Group and edited by Nick de Semlyen, Empire encompasses a print magazine, digital editions, podcasts, the website empireonline.com and live events. Its philosophy, in the publisher's words, is simple: every day is Christmas Eve — your new favourite film might be just around the corner. To quote Steven Spielberg: "Empire is the best movie magazine in the world. Bar none." Or as Quentin Tarantino once put it: "Movies are my religion, and Empire is my church."

History and Founding

The first issue of Empire was published in 1989, launching into a British magazine market that had never seen a film monthly quite like it. The magazine was edited from the start by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap, the British media group. McIlheney, who had joined Empire in 1989, shaped a title that combined serious film criticism with populist energy: detailed journalism and reviews of films, including art films, alongside regular sections, top-ten lists and a growing emphasis on the blockbusters that kept readership rising.

The launch was well timed. The late 1980s and 1990s were a golden age for the multiplex, and Empire rode the wave of Batman, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction and the British film renaissance, building a readership of passionate young cinemagoers. By the 2000s it was firmly established as the biggest-selling film magazine in the United Kingdom, a position it has defended ever since against rivals including Total Film.

Ownership and Publishing

Empire is published by Bauer Media Group, the Hamburg-based, family-owned publishing giant founded in 1875. Bauer acquired Emap's consumer media business in early 2008, bringing Empire — along with titles such as heat, Closer, Grazia and MCN — into the Bauer stable. The magazine is produced from Bauer's London offices and remains proudly a print product in a digital age.

Under Bauer, Empire has expanded into a genuinely global brand. Editions of the magazine are published internationally, including in the United States, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Italy and Portugal, making it one of Britain's most successful magazine exports. The brand's reach now spans print, digital editions, the website, podcasts and live events — a 360-degree operation built around the authority of the core magazine.

Print Editions and Frequency

Empire is published monthly, and the print edition remains the flagship. Each issue combines major interviews and set visits with reviews, previews, features and the magazine's famous lists. Certified circulation for January to December 2023 stood at 73,291 copies per issue across print and digital editions — a resilient performance in a collapsing print market, and at its peak the title's sales were far higher: in 2009 the magazine posted its sixth consecutive ABC circulation rise to 194,016.

Empire has made the physical magazine an event in itself. Subscribers receive an exclusive illustrated cover, specially commissioned each month, while newsstand issues have featured spectacular high-concept treatments: a light-up cover for Tron: Ares, a glow-in-the-dark cover for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, a video cover for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and a talking cover for Deadpool 2 with phrases specially recorded by star Ryan Reynolds. In an age of digital abundance, Empire has bet on print as a premium, collectible object.

Digital Presence

The website empireonline.com is one of the world's most visited film destinations, offering daily movie news, reviews, interviews, features and video. The brand's podcasts extend the magazine's voice into audio, with the long-running Empire podcast featuring interviews with directors and stars, spoiler specials and the irreverent banter that defines the title.

Digital growth has been central to the brand's strategy: as early as 2009 the site was recording more than a million unique users a month, and it has grown substantially since. Social media channels carry the magazine's trailers, exclusives and listicles to millions of followers, while the digital editions of the magazine allow international readers to buy each issue on tablets and phones.

Iconic Features and Sections

Empire's reviews section is the heart of the magazine: authoritative, star-rated verdicts on the month's releases, written by critics whose judgements can make or break a film's reputation among the faithful. Around the reviews sit the big interviews and set reports — world exclusives on everything from Marvel and Avatar to Scorsese and Nolan — for which the magazine's access is legendary.

The magazine is equally famous for its lists and polls. "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time", compiled from a readers' poll, became a landmark publishing event, spawning special editions and endless debate. Regular sections have included "Classic Scene", featuring transcripts from classic films, and the "Top 10" lists that readers devour and dispute in equal measure. And then there are the guest editors: Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Sam Mendes have each taken the helm for special issues, including the celebrated 20th-birthday edition in 2009, guest-edited by Spielberg with exclusive portraits and interviews from a Hollywood who's-who.

The Empire Awards

From 1996 to 2018, Empire organised the annual Empire Awards — the only major film awards voted for entirely by readers. Sponsored in their early years by Sony Ericsson and from 2009 by Jameson, the awards celebrated the films and performances that cinemagoers actually loved, from Best Film and Best Director to quirkier categories that reflected the magazine's personality.

The ceremony became a fixture of the film calendar, drawing A-list presenters and winners to London and generating the kind of fan-driven excitement that industry-voted awards rarely muster. Though the awards were eventually discontinued, they remain a defining part of the Empire legend: a two-decade experiment in democratic film criticism.

Notable Contributors

Empire's masthead has featured some of the finest film writers in Britain. Barry McIlheney, the founding editor, set the template; Mark Dinning, who edited the title through its 20th anniversary, oversaw its blockbuster-era peak. The current editor, Nick de Semlyen, is himself a noted film writer and author.

The magazine's critics and columnists have included celebrated genre specialists and interviewers whose long-form profiles are the industry's gold standard. Its photographers and illustrators have produced some of the most striking magazine imagery of the modern era — from the subscriber-only illustrated covers to the conceptual newsstand treatments that make each issue an event.

Cultural Impact

Empire did for film what the great music weeklies did for rock: it created a community. For generations of British cinemagoers, the magazine was where a love of movies became an identity — where arguments about the greatest film ever made were settled (temporarily), where directors were championed before they were famous, and where the shared language of fandom was written. Its five-star reviews, its spoiler warnings, its year-end lists: all became part of the furniture of film culture.

The title's influence on the industry is real. Studios court its covers; filmmakers from Spielberg to Tarantino have publicly declared their devotion; and its world exclusives — the first looks, the set visits, the career-spanning interviews — shape the conversation around major releases. In an era when film criticism has fragmented across YouTube, Letterboxd and social media, Empire remains the institutional voice of the cinemagoing public.

Awards and Recognition

Empire has been honoured repeatedly across the British magazine industry, with awards for its covers, its design, its journalism and its digital innovation. Its special issues and world exclusives have regularly been shortlisted for industry honours, and the brand's podcasts and live events have extended its trophy cabinet into new media.

Perhaps the most meaningful recognition, though, comes from the filmmakers themselves. Spielberg's verdict — the best movie magazine in the world, bar none — and Tarantino's church metaphor are quoted by the publisher with pride, and they capture something true: no publication speaks to movie fans across the world with more authority.

Recent Developments

With more than 35 years covering Hollywood and beyond, Empire continues to push the possibilities of what a magazine can be. The high-tech cover treatments — light-up, glow-in-the-dark, video and talking covers — show a title determined to make print unmissable. The podcast network, live events and ever-growing digital audience point to a brand that has successfully navigated the transition from magazine to multi-platform media property.

The challenge, as for all print media, is sustaining the economics of quality journalism. Empire's answer has been to double down on what makes it special: authority, access, humour and craft. Every day is Christmas Eve — and for the world's community of film fans, the next issue is always worth the wait.