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Letterboxd Draws Bids From A24, Sony, and NYT
Confirmed
In Short: The site, which attracts 30 million monthly users with no paid marketing, has also drawn interest from Sony Pictures.
Deadline reports that A24 and The New York Times have submitted second-round bids for Letterboxd, a film-centric social media site founded in 2011.
Alex Michael, a LionTree senior managing director, described Letterboxd as a 'phenomenon' at a Financial Times conference, noting its appeal to younger users aged 18 to 24.
The acquisition talks come after Tiny, a Canadian tech investment firm, bought a 60% stake in Letterboxd in 2023, valuing the company at over $50 million.
Sources tell Deadline that the deal could value Letterboxd at $300 million, about 20 times its projected 2026 revenue of $15 million.
Letterboxd’s user base includes celebrities like Francis Ford Coppola and Rian Johnson, and the site offers a subscription model and a video store for renting hard-to-find titles.
The New York Times, which regularly reviews potential investments, declined to comment on the speculation.
While A24 and Sony Pictures see potential synergies, they also face conflicts of interest in owning a platform that critiques their own film releases.
The Times, with its experience in media and subscriptions, could be a more agreeable option for users, though it raises questions about potential conflicts.
Gizmodo notes that a new owner could use Letterboxd to influence reviews and box office performance.
The Hollywood Reporter adds that the Times has a track record of acquiring brands like Wirecutter and The Athletic without alienating fans.
The bidding war highlights the growing importance of film review platforms in the entertainment industry.
What's confirmed
- Any deal is alleged to value Letterboxd at $300 million.
What's still developing
- “What I think is most interesting and relevant to this conversation is that the biggest cohort, the biggest user group, is ages 18 to 24,” Michael said during a conversation about the 2026 box office revival.
- Thursday as news of the bidding hit, calling it “a phenomenon.” He compared it with Fandango or Rotten Tomatoes (Letterboxd faithful might beg to differ) but “a little different,” drawing movie fans to other fan reviews and to discover new content.
- Letterboxd attracts 30 million monthly users “with zero paid marketing,” he added.
- “Obviously, that percentage declines as people get older, but it’s certainly supportive of what you’re saying” about young skewing Letterboxd.
- The New York Times said the company “regularly reviews potential investments, and it’s our policy not to comment on speculation about potential acquisitions or divestitures.” Versant Media, which owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, kicked the tires at Letterboxd earlier this year but took itself out of the running, Deadline hears.
- It sounds simpatico with the grass-roots DNA of Letterboxd but doesn’t seem to be getting much traction.
- It’s officially the end of an era for Letterboxd, as the bidding war for the review-aggregator site has started, with several major companies interested in acquiring it.
- However, this acquisition of the review-aggregator website is what is concerning to fans and audiences around the world.
- However, it seems that major companies like Sony are heavily interested in purchasing the website.
- Taking ownership of Letterboxd is majorly addressed to its large audience, advertising potential, and the revenue that the company can generate for its owner.
- World of Reel suggested A24 buying Letterboxd would be “the most on-brand acquisition imaginable,” though it and Sony Pictures have an obvious conflict of interest.
- Among the companies said to be interested were Sony Pictures, Paramount, Netflix and Versant.