The New York Times is reportedly closing in on a massive purchase of Letterboxd.
Letterboxd is a beloved recommendation-based community platform boasting over 26 million users.
Netflix, A24 and Sony had also been in the mix to buy the platform.
The New York Times Company is in exclusive negotiations to acquire film community platform Letterboxd for a reported $330 million, which is well over 20 times its projected 2026 earnings of $15 million. While not yet finalized, exclusive talks typically signal a high likelihood of a deal.
The NYT reported this development on Thursday. In September, Variety reported that The New York Times and A24 bid for Letterboxd, alongside interest from Netflix, Sony Pictures, Skydance, TPG, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
The premium valuation is propelled by Letterboxd's staggering growth: the 2011New Zealand-founded site has surged from 1.8 million users in 2020 to nearly 31 million today (a 43% year-over-year jump). Canadian-based public company Tiny holds a 60% controlling stake acquired in 2023 at a $50M–$60M valuation, with co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow retaining the remaining 40%.
Letterboxd's Massive Surge
Since its acquisition by Tiny, Letterboxd has blown up to 26 million users, spurred by viral "Four Favorites" social clips, celebrity adoption, and a new indie rental shop, though undisclosed paid subscriber numbers and delayed features like TV logging persist.
An NYT acquisition proposes instant scale, enabling cross-promotions with its film reviews, Watching blog, or Games hub, plus subscription bundling (Pro/Patron tiers alongside The Athletic, Cooking, or Games) to help the Times hit its target of 15 million subscribers by 2027 (up from 13.8M). However, integration risks razing into Letterboxd’s cool, independent appeal among its discerning userbase.
Tiny retained boutique investment bank LionTree to manage the sale. Representatives from LionTree, Letterboxd, The New York Times, and A24 declined to comment immediately.
At a recent FT conference, LionTree Senior Managing Director Alex Michael praised Letterboxd as a "phenomenon" that draws 30 million monthly users with zero paid marketing.
