David Hepworth of Emap, the publisher of British music magazines "Q" and "Smash Hits", among other titles, came up with the idea to publish a magazine similar to "Q", but for films. They recruited "Smash Hits" editor Barry McIlheney to edit the new magazine, with Hepworth as Editorial Director. Hepworth produced a one-page document of what he wanted to achieve. Among them, they planned to review and rate every film that was released in the cinema in the United Kingdom. It also said that ""Empire" believes that movies can sometimes be art, but they should always be fun." The first edition (June/July 1989) was published in May 1989 with Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder on the front cover from the film "Great Balls of Fire!". The first issue reached its target of 50,000 copies sold.