Mad Max and Star Wars lead Empire Award nominations

Mad Max: Fury Road saw Tom Hardy take on the starring role made famous by Mel Gibson

Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens lead this year's Empire Awards, with 10 and nine nominations respectively.

The movies compete against each other in categories including best film, best director, and visual effects.

The Martian follows with six nominations, and Bafta triumph The Revenant, with five.

The awards are voted for by the British public via the film magazine's website.

Creed and Straight Outta Compton receive nods, having been largely ignored by other awards bodies despite awards buzz.

Left to right MC Ren (Aldis Hodge), DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr), Easy-E (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr) and Dr Dre (Corey Hawkins) in Straight Outta Compton

Oscar favourite Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) goes up against Matt Damon (The Martian), Michael Fassbender (Macbeth/Steve Jobs), Tom Hardy (Legend/Mad Max: Fury Road) and Michael B. Jordan (Creed) in the best actor category.

Room's Brie Larson battle's Emily Blunt (Sicario), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2) and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) for best actress.

The Hateful Eight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant and Star Wars: The Force Awakens fight it out for best film.

New categories introduced this year include Best Documentary which sees a nomination for Netflix's Making a Murderer.

Winners will be revealed at a ceremony hosted by David Walliams in London on Sunday 20 March.

See the full list of nominees