The 9th Empire Awards ceremony (officially known as the Sony Ericsson Empire Awards), presented by the British

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

''Empire'', honored the best films of 2003 and took place on 4 February 2004 at The Dorchester Hotel in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. During the ceremony, ''Empire'' presented

Empire Awards The Empire Awards was an annual British awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the local and global film industry. Winners were awarded the Empire Award statuette. The awards, first presented in 1996, were presented by the British f ...

in nine categories as well as three honorary awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award was renamed to Career Achievement Award this year but was reverted to its former name at its next and last presentation. The ceremony was televised live in the United Kingdom by Sky Movies 1 with highlights and exclusive backstage interviews airing on Sky One Mix on 5 February. English actor Bill Bailey hosted the show for the first time. The awards were sponsored by

Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. I ...

for the second consecutive year. ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' were tied for most awards won with three awards apiece. ''Love Actually'' won the award for Best British Film, while ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' won the award for

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. Other winners included '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' with two awards and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' with one.

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

received the

Empire Inspiration Award The Empire Inspiration Award is an honorary Empire Award presented by the British film magazine ''Empire''. The Empire Inspiration Award was first introduced at the 2nd Empire Awards ceremony in 1997 with the Monty Python team receiving the award. ...

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

received the Career Achievement Award and

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

received the Independent Spirit Award.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Multiple awards

The following three films received multiple awards:

Multiple nominations

The following 11 films received multiple nominations:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Awards, 09 Empire Award ceremonies 2003 film awards 2004 in British cinema 2004 in London February 2004 events in the United Kingdom 2000s in the City of Westminster