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A bidding war may be in full flower for Letterboxd, the popular film-reviews and social service that has been fielding inbound acquisition offers for several months.
Indie studio A24 and the New York Times are the latest
to express an interest in buying Letterboxd, according to a New York Times report citing anonymous sources. Any deal is “expected to value Letterboxd at more than $300 million,” per the report. That would be about 20 times its projected earnings in 2026 of roughly $15 million, according to the Times.
There’s been broad interest in Letterboxd: Those said to have explored a possible acquisition include Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Skydance, private-equity giant TPG and Reddit co-creator Alexis Ohanian.
If a studio or streamer acquired Letterboxd, it would introduce at least the perception of a conflict of interest, as users might wonder if such an owner would favor its own titles on the service. Rotten Tomatoes was part of NBCUniversal for years, raising questions of its independence from the entertainment division. (Rotten Tomatoes is now part of Versant Media, which spun off from NBCU earlier this year.)
A24 declined to comment. Reps for the New York Times and Letterboxd did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement in July, a Letterboxd spokesperson said about reports of potential buyers: “As Letterboxd has grown, it’s natural there will be interest in what we do next. There’s nothing specific for us to share at this time. Any decision about Letterboxd’s future would involve the founders.”
Letterboxd, founded in 2011 and based in New Zealand, has been shopping itself to interested parties in recent months. It is majority-owned by Canadian holding company Tiny, which acquired a 60% stake in Letterboxd in 2023 at a valuation of $50 million-$60 million. Letterboxd co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow own the remaining 40% share.
Letterboxd has more than 30 million members globally and serves a passionate base of movie lovers. The company also has launched an online video-rental service stocked with indie films including previously unreleased titles.
