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

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 British Film

Empire Award for Best British Film

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...

, 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:*...
	Braveheart Braveheart Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
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:*...
	Seven Seven (film) Seven is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It was distributed by New Line Cinema and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R...
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:*...
	Men in Black Men in Black (film) Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Marvel Comics. The film featured the creature effects...
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...
	Titanic Titanic (1997 film) Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
	Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
	Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
	The Big Lebowski The Big Lebowski The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named...
	The Truman Show The Truman Show The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone...

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:...
	The Matrix The Matrix The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
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...
	Gladiator Gladiator (2000 film) Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
	American Beauty American Beauty (film) American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...
	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
	High Fidelity High Fidelity (film) High Fidelity is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack and the Danish actress Iben Hjejle. The film is based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the setting moved from London to Chicago and the name of the lead character...
	Magnolia Magnolia (film) Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, narrated by Ricky Jay, and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards in his last feature film appearance...
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:...
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
	A.I. Artificial Intelligence
	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
	The Others The Others (2001 film) The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw....
	Moulin Rouge! Moulin Rouge! Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
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...
	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
	Die Another Day Die Another Day Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
	Minority Report Minority Report (film) Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
	Road to Perdition Road to Perdition Road to Perdition is a 2002 American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig...
	Spider-Man Spider-Man (film) Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
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...
	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
	Cold Mountain Cold Mountain (film) Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
	Kill Bill: Vol. 1
	Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
	X2 X2 (film) X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series...
2005 (10th)
	The Bourne Supremacy The Bourne Supremacy (film) The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 American spy film very loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. The film was directed by Paul Greengrass, written by Tony Gilroy and Brian Helgeland, and produced by Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley. Universal Pictures released the film to theaters in...
	Collateral Collateral (film) Collateral is a 2004 crime thriller film starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It was directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie. It was Mann's first feature film to be shot mostly with high-definition cameras. Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and for his CBS drama...
	Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Kill Bill Volume 2 Kill Bill Volume 2 is a 2004 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the second of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart. Kill Bill was originally scheduled for a single theatrical release, but with a running time of over four hours, it was...
	Spider-Man 2 Spider-Man 2 Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
	The Incredibles The Incredibles The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
2006 (11th)
	King Kong King Kong (2005 film) King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
	Crash Crash (2004 film) Crash is a 2004 American drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video...
	Sin City Sin City (film) Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
	War of the Worlds War of the Worlds (2005 film) War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
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...
	Casino Royale Casino Royale (2006 film) Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
	Pan's Labyrinth Pan's Labyrinth Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
	Superman Returns Superman Returns Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
	The Departed The Departed The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
	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...
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...
	The Bourne Ultimatum The Bourne Ultimatum (film) The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
	Ratatouille Ratatouille (film) Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
	The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a 2007 American Western drama film. The film is directed by Andrew Dominik, with Brad Pitt portraying Jesse James and Casey Affleck as his killer, Robert Ford.Filming took place in rural Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba...
	Zodiac Zodiac (film) Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery-thriller film directed by David Fincher and based on Robert Graysmith's non-fiction book of the same name. The Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros...
2009 (14th)
	The Dark Knight The Dark Knight (film) The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
	Iron Man Iron Man (film) Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
	No Country For Old Men No Country for Old Men (film) No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
	There Will Be Blood There Will Be Blood There Will Be Blood is a 2007 drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film is based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil!. It tells the story of a silver miner-turned-oilman on a ruthless quest for wealth during Southern California's oil boom of the late 19th and...
	WALL-E WALL-E WALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL•E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...

2010s

Year	Film
2010 (15th)
	Avatar
	District 9 District 9 District 9 is a 2009 South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James...
	The Hurt Locker The Hurt Locker The Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
	Inglourious Basterds
	Star Trek
2011 (16th)
	Inception Inception Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
	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...
	Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...
	The King's Speech
	The Social Network The Social Network The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...