The Empire Award for Best British Film is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to the best British film of the previous year. The Empire Award for Best British Film is one of six ongoing awards that have been handed out since the establishment of the Empire Awards in 1996

1st Empire Awards

The 1st Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 1995, were held on 1996. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-External links:*...

 (the others being Best Film

Empire Award for Best Film

The Empire Award for Best Film is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to the best film of the previous year. The Empire Award for Best Film is one of six ongoing awards that have been handed out since the establishment of the Empire Awards in 1996...

, Best Actor

Empire Award for Best Actor

The Empire Award for Best Actor is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to actors working in the motion picture industry. The Empire Award for Best Actor is one of six ongoing awards that have been handed out since the establishment of the Empire Awards in 1996...

, Best Actress

Empire Award for Best Actress

The Empire Award for Best Actress is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to actresses working in the motion picture industry. The Empire Award for Best Actress is one of six ongoing awards that have been handed out since the establishment of the Empire Awards in 1996...

, Best Director

Empire Award for Best Director

The Empire Award for Best Director is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to directors working in the motion picture industry...

 and Best Newcomer

Empire Award for Best Newcomer

The Empire Award for Best Newcomer is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to actors and directors for a debut or breakthrough performance in a feature film...

). The winners are chosen each year by readers of Empire magazine.

Winners and nominees

In the list below, winners are listed first in bold, followed by the other nominees. The number of the ceremony (1st, 2nd, etc.) appears in parentheses after the awards year, linked to the article (if any) on that ceremony.

1990s

Year	Film
1996 (1st) 1st Empire Awards The 1st Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 1995, were held on 1996. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-External links:*...
	Shallow Grave Shallow Grave -Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
1997 (2nd) 2nd Empire Awards The 2nd Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 1996, were held on 1997. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-External links:*...
	Trainspotting Trainspotting (film) Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
1998 (3rd) 3rd Empire Awards The 3rd Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 1997, were held on 1998. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-Best British Director:Anthony Minghella — The English Patient-External links:*...
	The Full Monty The Full Monty The Full Monty is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy...
1999 (4th) 4th Empire Awards The 4th Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 1998, were held on 1999. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-Best Film:Titanic*Good Will Hunting*Saving Private Ryan...
	Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
	Elizabeth Elizabeth (film) Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
	My Name Is Joe My Name Is Joe My Name Is Joe is a 1998 Scottish film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow who meets and falls in love with a health visitor. David McKay plays his troubled friend Liam...
	Sliding Doors Sliding Doors Sliding Doors is a 1998 British-American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, and featured John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Virginia McKenna. The music was composed by David Hirschfelder...
	24/7 Twenty Four Seven (film) Twenty Four Seven is a 1997 film directed and written by Shane Meadows. It was co-written by frequent Meadows collaborator Paul Fraser.-Plot:In a typical English working-class town, the juveniles have nothing more to do than hang around in gangs...

2000s

Year	Film
2000 (5th) 5th Empire Awards The 5th Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 1999, were held on February 17, 2000 at the Park Lane Hotel. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-Best Debut:...
	Notting Hill Notting Hill (film) Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...
2001 (6th) 6th Empire Awards The 6th Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 2000, were held on February, 2001 at The Dorchester Hotel and hosted by Dermot O'Leary. It was broadcast on Channel 4. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
	Billy Elliot Billy Elliot Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
	Angela’s Ashes Angela's Ashes (film) Angela's Ashes is a 1999 Irish-American drama film based on the memoir of the same title by Frank McCourt. It was directed by Alan Parker and starred Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge .-Plot:Angela's Ashes tells the story of Frank McCourt and his childhood...
	Chicken Run Chicken Run Chicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films...
	Snatch Snatch (film) Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
	Topsy-Turvy Topsy-Turvy Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 musical drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and stars Allan Corduner as Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. The story concerns the 15-month period in 1884 and 1885 leading up to the premiere of Gilbert...
2002 (7th) 7th Empire Awards The 7th Empire Awards, honoring the best in film in 2001, were held on February 5, 2002 at The Dorchester Hotel and hosted by Phill Jupitus. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-Best Film:...
	Bridget Jones's Diary Bridget Jones's Diary (film) Bridget Jones's Diary is a 2001 British romantic comedy film based on Helen Fielding's novel of the same name. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver, and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love", Mark Darcy...
	Enigma Enigma (2001 film) Enigma is a 2001 British film about the Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park in World War II. The film, directed by Michael Apted, stars Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet. The film's screenplay was by Tom Stoppard, based on the novel Enigma by Robert Harris...
	Lucky Break Lucky Break Lucky Break is a 2001 British comedy film starring James Nesbitt and directed by Peter Cattaneo.-Synopsis:Feelgood prison-escape movie that sees a group of prison inmates , put on a theatrical show of Nelson: The Musical to cover their daring break-out attempt...
	Mike Bassett: England Manager Mike Bassett: England Manager Mike Bassett: England Manager is a 2001 satirical comedy film directed by Steve Barron, following the fortunes of the manager of Division One football club Norwich City, Mike Bassett, who having led his side to the 'Mr Clutch Cup', is appointed England manager.The film takes the form of a...
	The Parole Officer The Parole Officer The Parole Officer is a 2001 film, directed by John Duigan and was the first feature film to star comedian Steve Coogan. The film follows a mismatched group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation.-Plot:Simon Garden is a...
2003 (8th) 8th Empire Awards The 8th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2002, were held on February 5, 2003 at The Dorchester Hotel and hosted by Richard E. Grant. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
	28 Days Later 28 Days Later 28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston...
	24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
	About a Boy About a Boy About a Boy is a 1998 novel by British writer Nick Hornby. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 2002.-Plot summary:The novel is about Will Freeman, a 36-year-old bachelor, and Marcus, an introverted, bullied 12-year-old who lives alone with his suicidal mother, Fiona...
	Bend It Like Beckham Bend It Like Beckham Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha...
	The Guru
2004 (9th) 9th Empire Awards The 9th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2003, were held on February 4, 2004 at The Dorchester Hotel and hosted by Bill Bailey. It was broadcast on Sky Movies 1. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
	Love Actually Love Actually Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress...
	Bright Young Things Bright Young Things Bright Young Things is a 2003 British drama film written and directed by Stephen Fry. The screenplay, based on the 1930 novel Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, provides satirical social commentary about the Bright Young People: young and carefree London aristocrats and bohemians, as well as society in...
	Calendar Girls Calendar Girls Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
	Johnny English Johnny English Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles...
	Young Adam Young Adam (film) Young Adam is a 2003 British drama film written and directed by David Mackenzie. The screenplay is based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Alexander Trocchi.-Plot:...
2005 (10th)
	Shaun of the Dead Shaun of the Dead Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather...
	Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (film) # Will Young - "Your Love Is King"# Jamelia - "Stop"# Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"# Joss Stone - "Super Duper Love Pt. 1"# Mary J...
	Dead Man's Shoes
	Enduring Love
	Layer Cake Layer Cake (film) Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J...
2006 (11th)
	Pride & Prejudice Pride & Prejudice (2005 film) Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 British romance film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 1813 novel of the same name by Jane Austen and the second adaption produced by Working Title Films. It was released on September 16, 2005, in the UK and on November 11, 2005, in the...
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
	Stoned Stoned (film) Stoned, also known as The Wild and Wycked World of Brian Jones in the UK, is a 2005 film about Brian Jones, one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones...
	The Descent The Descent The Descent is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film follows six women who, having entered an unmapped cave system, become trapped, and are hunted by subterranean flesh-eating humanoids....
	The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 2005 comic science fiction film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28, 2005 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and on the following day in Canada and the United...
	Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British clay-mation animated comedy horror film, the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations, and released by DreamWorksPictures...
2007 (12th) 12th Empire Awards The 12th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2006, were published on March 27, 2007. As an exception to previous years, this year had no award ceremony. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
	United 93 United 93 (film) United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
	A Cock and Bull Story A Cock and Bull Story A Cock and Bull Story is a 2006 British comedy film directed by Michael Winterbottom...
	Confetti
	Starter for 10
	The Queen The Queen (film) The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
2008 (13th) 13th Empire Awards The 13th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2007, were held on March 9, 2008 at the Grosvenor House Hotel and hosted by Rob Brydon. It was directed by Dave Skinner and broadcast on ITV2. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
	Atonement Atonement (film) Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
	Control
	Hot Fuzz Hot Fuzz Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced...
	Sunshine Sunshine (2007 film) Sunshine is a 2007 British science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland about the crew of a spacecraft on a dangerous mission to the Sun. In 2057, with the Earth in peril from the dying Sun, the crew is sent to reignite the Sun with a massive stellar bomb with the mass...
	This Is England This Is England -Track listing:#"54-46 Was My Number" - Toots & The Maytals#"Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners#"Tainted Love" - Soft Cell#"Underpass/Flares" - Movie Dialogue From This Is England#"Nicole " - Gravenhurst...
2009 (14th)
	RocknRolla RocknRolla RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton...
	Eden Lake Eden Lake Eden Lake is a 2008 British horror film, written and directed by James Watkins and starring Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender and Jack O'Connell.-Plot synopsis:...
	Hunger Hunger (2008 film) Hunger is a 2008 film about the 1981 Irish hunger strike. It was written by Enda Walsh and Steve R. McQueen, who also directed. It was made by Blast! Films and commissioned by Channel 4 and Film4. It premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, winning the prestigious Caméra d'Or award for...
	In Bruges In Bruges In Bruges is a 2008 black comedy crime film written and directed by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss. The film takes place—and was filmed—within the Belgian city of Bruges. In Bruges was...
	Son of Rambow Son of Rambow Son of Rambow is a 2008 comedy-drama film written and directed by Garth Jennings. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was later shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Glasgow Film...

2010s

Year	Film
2010 (15th)
	Harry Brown Harry Brown (film) Harry Brown is a 2009 British action drama film directed by Daniel Barber and starring Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Jack O'Connell, and Liam Cunningham....
	An Education An Education An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
	The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a 2009 fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows a traveling theater troupe whose leader, having made a bet with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations...
	In the Loop In the Loop (film) In the Loop is a 2009 British satirical black comedy film directed by Armando Iannucci. It is based on the BBC Television series The Thick of It satirising Anglo-American politics in the 21st century and the Invasion of Iraq...
	Nowhere Boy Nowhere Boy Nowhere Boy is a 2009 British biopic about John Lennon's adolescence, his relationships with his guardian aunt and his birth mother, the creation of his first band, the Quarrymen, and its evolution into the Beatles. The film is based on a biography written by Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird...
2011 (16th)
	Kick-Ass Kick-Ass (film) Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman...
	127 Hours 127 Hours 127 Hours is a 2010 biographical adventure drama film co-written, produced and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco as mountain climber Aron Ralston, who became trapped by a boulder in Robbers Roost, Utah in April 2003....
	Four Lions Four Lions Four Lions is a 2010 British satirical comedy film. It is the debut feature from director Chris Morris, written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The film is a jihad satire following a group of homegrown Islamist terrorist jihadis from Sheffield, England.-Plot:A group of young Muslim men...
	Monsters Monsters (2010 film) Monsters is a 2010 British science fiction film, written, shot and directed by Gareth Edwards. Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy star in the lead roles.-Plot:...
	The King's Speech