Letterboxd (/ˈlɛtərbɒkst/LET-ər-bokst) is an onlinesocial cataloging service forfilm founded and owned by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow (partially with the investment company Tiny since 2023) in 2011, and headquartered in New Zealand. Members can rate and review films, keep track of which ones they have seen in the past and when, make lists of films, showcase their favorites,tag films using text keywords, and interact with othercinephiles. It has been described as "Goodreads for movies."[1]
Screenshot of a film entry page on Letterboxd, illustrating the platform's interface design.
Letterboxd's popularity spiked during theCOVID-19 pandemic. It has over 20 million registered users as of September 2025.[citation needed] Although the website is generally limited to films, its leadership intends to add television shows in the future.[2]
Seeking to develop a "Goodreads for film,"New Zealand web designers Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow launched a private version of the Letterboxd website at the Brooklyn Beta web conference in October 2011.[3][4] The name "Letterboxd" is based on the termletterboxing, the practice of placing black bars on the edges of a screen to preserve a movie's originalaspect ratio.[5] Buchanan and von Randow launched an invitation-only beta version on 24 April 2012[6][7] and opened the site to the general public on 8 February 2013.[8] Until March 2020, Letterboxd did not employ any full-time personnel.[9] In September 2023, the company had 16 full-time and 12 part-time employees.[2]
In September 2023, Canadian investment company Tiny acquired a 60% majority stake in Letterboxd, valuing the company at around $50–60 million. Buchanan and von Randow continue to lead the company.[10]
Upon its acquisition, Letterboxd concurrently announced that it intended to add television shows to the site.[2] (Due to Letterboxd's reliance on outside vendor The Movie Database for its list of extant films,limited-run series and a small number of recurring series have been loggable on the site for years.[5]) Buchanan acknowledged that the decision to add TV shows has been met with some controversy by the Letterboxd community, but assured users that the introduction of television to the platform will not disrupt the existing user experience.[9]
In May 2017 (six years after launch), Letterboxd users collectively logged their 100 millionth film; they reached the 1 billion mark on 19 July 2022.[11] As of 23 March 2025, users have logged over 498 movies at least one million times each (the oldest beingDisney'sSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs), and 70 movies at least three million times each.[12][13] In February 2025,Barbie became the first film to be logged five million times on the platform.[14]
Letterboxd's userbase swelled during theCOVID-19 pandemic. Its user count rose from 1.8 million in March 2020 to 3 million in January 2021,[3] 4.1 million in December of that year,[15] 10 million in September 2023,[2] 12 million in February 2024,[16] 14 million four months later in June,[17] and 17 million by the end of 2024.[18] In September 2020, film critic Scott Tobias called Letterboxd "the safest space for film discussion we've got."[19] Once movie theaters reopened,arthouse and classic film organizations like theAmerican Cinematheque reported that Letterboxd helped drive younger filmgoers to visit their programs.[20]
The site has a reputation for attractingcinephiles and members of Film Twitter.[3][23] An internal survey conducted in 2022 showed that Letterboxd users, on average, watched more movies and spent more money on movies than general moviegoers.[24]The New York Times wrote, "What rises to the top of the site's page for most popular reviews ranges wildly: there are obscure memes, diaristic essays and sprawling screeds packed with pseudo-academic jargon", adding, "the lack of rules or structure can also lead to some interesting, unconventional criticism, and offers a platform to voices that might otherwise not be heard."[3] The site has been praised for its comparative and competitive pressure as well as its role in facilitating connections centered on shared interests; fostering exploration across cinema genres and eras; challenging gatekeeping in the film community; and connecting like-minded people within digital communities. Conversely, it has been criticized forgamifying the act of watching films and boosting sardonicone-line reviews over more in-depth assessments.[25][26][27]
In recent years, several notable members of the film industry have joined the site. When actressIman Vellani was cast asKamala Khan inMs. Marvel, fans quickly found her Letterboxd account[28] and some of her reviews went viral, particularly her review ofCaptain Marvel.[29] DirectorMartin Scorsese opened a Letterboxd account in October 2023 and quickly became the most-followed user on the site.[30]
Joining individual filmmakers, a number of film-related organizations and companies have established an official presence on Letterboxd. This includes film distributors such asParamount Pictures,[82]Sony Pictures,[83]Lionsgate,[84]NEON,[85] andThe Criterion Collection,[86] the streaming serviceMUBI,[87] prominent film festival organizers like theCannes Film Festival,[88] and theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which announced a formal partnership with the platform in 2023.[89][90] These accounts often share curated film lists, news. Letterboxd's marketing team also frequently interviews Hollywood celebrities about their four favorite films, based on the Letterboxd feature that allows users to publicly display their own favorite movies on their user profiles.[91][92][93]
In March 2024, Letterboxd disclosed that it had suffered adata breach the previous February via a compromised staff account. The company said that the breaching party had accessed "significantly less than 1% of all accounts."[94][95]
Anyone can read content on the site. However, users who want to participate must create a Letterboxd account.
All members can rate films on a scale of one to five stars (with half-stars also allowed), review films, and tag them with relevant keywords. Members may also list their four favorite films, maintain lists of films they have watched or want to watch, and interact with other members. A follower model enables members to follow and get updates about the activity of others on the site. Lists could originally only be made public or private to the user. In April 2023, finer controls were added which allowed sharing a list with specific users via a secret link.[96]
In December 2023, Letterboxd partnered with the aggregator Assemble to launch a feature identifying showtimes and links to ticketing websites for movies that were currently in theaters.[97] The feature applies to movie theaters in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.[98]
Since opening to the public in February 2013, Letterboxd has offered atiered membership structure, with both free and paid memberships.[101] Paid subscribers can access a broader range of features, including individual user data (such as hours spent watching films, favorite directors, and types of ratings given)[19] and a tool that identifies whether a film is available on a streaming service to which the user has a subscription.[102]
In September 2020, Letterboxd announced a new "HQ" membership type for film-related organizations, such as movie theaters, studios, festivals, and podcasts.[103] HQ members can post news stories, link to external websites, and access web analytics.[104]
All film-relatedmetadata used on the website is supplied by The Movie Database, anopen source database.[105] In September 2019, the site partnered with JustWatch to display online viewing options for films.[106] In March 2022, the site partnered with Nanocrowd to show "nanogenres" and recommendations for similar films to users.[107][108]
