Empire is the UK's best-loved movie brand and home to the world's biggest movie magazine. Across web, print, podcasts, and live events, Empire brings you the very best entertainment news and reviews from a hugely passionate team of dedicated film experts.
From breaking movie and TV news to a vast archive of review and in-depth features on releases past and present, Empire has everything you need to keep up with the very latest goings-on in Hollywood and beyond.
History
Empire was founded in 1989, carving out its place as the UK's first dedicated film magazine. Combining in-depth, on-set features from the biggest films in development with insight, humour and comprehensive reviews, the magazine grew to become a household name and one of the most trusted movie brands in the world, guest-edited by the like of Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Sam Mendes. Now far more than a print magazine, Empire publishes online daily, has four award-winning podcasts in The Empire Film Podcast, Pilot TV, The Empire Spoiler Special Podcast, and Pilot TV+, and stages regular live events for premium subscribers.
Editorial Policy
Empire adheres to strict journalistic standards, ensuring our content is fully fact-checked and correctly sourced. Of all our content, reviews form the cornerstone of the Empire brand. Our reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by advertising, affiliate deals or any other commercial factors. They are entirely reflective of the personal opinions of our team of expert critics.
How We Rate Films, TV Shows, And Games
Empire uses a five-star rating system for all of our reviews, be they films, TV shows or games. While we always recommend reading the entire review to properly appraise a title, a general guide to the star ratings is:
One star: Terrible, avoid at all costs.
Two stars: A mediocre title. Has some redeeming features but is generally unexceptional and may not be worth your time.
Three stars: Good. This is a recommendation — the film may not be perfect but the review is largely favourable.
Four stars: Very good. An outstanding title that is definitely worth your time.
Five stars: Unmissable. An incredible release that you owe it to yourself to see. A potential classic.
The Team
Empire employs a broad team of expert film and TV writers consisting of both staff writers and freelance contributors. Our core writing team consists of:
Nick is the editor of Empire and author of bestselling film books Wild And Crazy Guys and The Last Action Heroes.
James is Empire's Digital Editor-In-Chief, host of the Pilot TV Podcast and co-presenter of The Empire Film Podcast. He watches more TV than you do.
Ben is Deputy Online Editor at Empire, having joined the team in 2018. He’s been a culture and entertainment journalist for over 10 years.
Alex is Empire’s Features Editor. He writes for all sections of the magazine. He’d write the adverts too, if he could.
Chris is Empire's Executive Editor, host of the Empire podcast and custodian of the magazine's Final Cut section.
Beth is Empire’s News Editor and has been writing for the magazine since 2018.
John is Empire's Reviews Editor. As the commissioning editor for all of Empire’s reviews, he watches an unholy amount of films, but will defend Home Alone 2 until he dies.
Harry Stainer - Social media Editor
Harry is Empire's Social Media Editor. If you're talking to Empire and Pilot's Twitter/IG/Bluesky accounts, chances are high that you're talking to Harry.
Helen is Empire’s Editor-at-Large, which is a glamorous title with no real responsibilities — the ideal combination! Helen has written numerous books about films, including Women Vs Hollywood and A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary.
Jordan is an Online Writer at Empire, having first joined the team in 2021. He's spent over a decade writing about film, TV, and popular culture.
Contact Us
Twitter: @empiremagazine
Instagram: @empiremagazine
TikTok: @empiremagazineofficial
Email: [email protected]
Affiliate Disclosure
Do you make affiliate commission?
We work with a variety of affiliate partnerships and we may receive a commission for purchases made through our links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
How does this impact your editorial work?
Our affiliate partnerships do not impact on the product choices we make, or the reviews we write. There is no pressure on our editorial team to choose particular products or brands; we won’t recommend a product that we don’t believe in. The products will speak for themselves when you invest in them.
