Prior to the company entering administration in July 2023, there were 13 Empire Cinemas across the country, with 128 screens in total.

In July 2016, the company sold five cinemas, including the flagship in Leicester Square, to Cineworld for £94 million.

On 29 May 2012, Ealing Council's leader wrote to Empire to inform them that compulsory purchase proceedings would now start.

On 19 October 2012, construction and excavation vehicles were seen in operation on the cinema site, however as of July 2015 no further building work had commenced.

Ealing Council served a compulsory purchase order on the site in July 2014, as part of plans to create a new "cultural quarter" in the area.

[23] Construction work began on the site in December 2016, with the Ealing Picturehouse eventually opening in October 2023.