Empire is a monthly film magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media. Founded in 1989, it has since become the highest selling film magazine in the UK. It is also published in the United States, Australia, Portugal, Italy, Russia and Turkey. Although Empire covers both mainstream films and art films, its feature articles focus on popular culture.
Every year, Empire presents awards for achievements in the film and television industry as voted by readers of the magazine. The awards were sponsored by Sony Ericsson from 1996 to 2008 and by Jameson Irish Whiskey from 2009 to 2017. Since 2018, the official sponsor of the awards has been Rakuten.
Award categories as of 2018 include Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Male Newcomer, Best Female Newcomer, Best Film, Best British Film, Best Comedy, Best Horror, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Best Thriller, Best Soundtrack, Best Animated Film, Best Documentary, Best Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best TV Series, Best Actor in a TV Series, Best Actress in a TV Series.
Along with the annual awards presented on a competitive basis, there have always been several honorary awards. As of 2018 three honorary awards include Empire Hero Award (inaugurated in 2010, the first recipient was Jude Law), Empire Inspiration Award (inaugurated in 1997, the first recipient was the Monty Python team) and Empire Legend Award (inaugurated in 2012, the first recipient was Tim Burton).
Over the years, the Empire Awards ceremony has been held at several venues, including the Park Lane Hotel, the Dorchester Hotel, Guildhall, the Hilton London Metropole and the Grosvenor House Hotel. As of 2018, it takes place at the Roundhouse Theatre. The event is usually held in mid-March.
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