Netflix reportedly among parties in talks to buy Letterboxd

Letterboxd is reportedly in talks with potential buyers.

The owners of the popular social platform for movies are discussing a sale with companies including Netflix, Sony Pictures and Paramount, according to the industry newsletter Puck.

The app is majority-owned by the Canadian holding company Tiny, which acquired a ۶۰% share in the business in ۲۰۲۳. Co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow own the remaining ۴۰%. The company has been “floating” a valuation of $۲۵۰m, according to the report.

Other potential buyers include the private equity companies TPG and Redbird, as well as the Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, husband to Serena Williams.

Since its launch in ۲۰۱۱, Letterboxd has steadily risen in popularity but saw a surge of new users during the pandemic; it currently has more than ۲۶ million users worldwide.

The app has become a beloved platform and community for young movie enthusiasts, and is most popular with audiences ages ۱۸ to ۳۵. Its popularity is helped by celebrities such Charli xcx, Ayo Edebiri and Martin Scorsese, who enthusiastically log films watched, write reviews and share watch lists on the platform.

Meanwhile, Letterboxd’s popular Four Favorites video series regularly sees Hollywood A-listers such as Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman and Uma Thurman discussing their most-loved movies.

Tiny has also spoken to Comcast’s parent company, Versant, about potentially acquiring the platform, according to a Semafor report.

In December, the platform launched an in-app video rental “store” focusing on niche arthouse titles that can be hard to find on streaming platforms. “Think of it as curated shelves instead of just scrolling lists endlessly without being able to make up your mind on what to watch,” a press release from Letterboxd said at the time.

A key part of why users are drawn to Letterboxd is its narrow focus on cinema. In an article last year, the Guardian’s Alaina Demopoulos wrote: “Most people agree that Letterboxd’s strength as a social networking site lies in what it doesn’t have: there’s no way to message people or post pictures.”

The Guardian has reached out to Letterboxd for comment.