The New York Times is in exclusive talks to buy Letterboxd for about $330 million

Letterboxd, the app where film fans log what they watch and rate it with stars, may soon belong to The New York Times Company. The publisher has entered exclusive negotiations to buy it in a deal worth roughly $330 million, the Times itself reported, as Variety and IndieWire relayed on Thursday. The paper stressed that nothing has been signed and the talks could still fall apart.

The price and the rivals

The figure is more than 20 times the roughly $15 million Letterboxd is expected to earn in 2026. The site has been looking for a buyer for months. Variety had earlier reported interest from A24, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Skydance, the investment firm TPG and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. According to IndieWire, Sony and A24 were the last two rivals; A24 had promised to keep the service independent but stepped back as the price climbed.

Who owns it now

Letterboxd was founded in New Zealand in 2011 by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow. Canadian holding company Tiny bought a 60% stake in 2023, when the business was valued at about $50 million to $60 million, and the founders kept the other 40%. Under the plan described by the Times, both founders would stay on and report to an executive at the paper.

Basic logging and reviews are free. Paying members get the Pro tier, which removes ads and adds statistics, or Patron, with extra customisation and early features. The company also runs a small rental service for festival and niche films.

Why the Times wants it

The deal would fit a familiar pattern. The Times has spent years buying products people return to every day, from The Athletic and Wirecutter to Wordle, and bundling them into its subscriptions. IndieWire notes that Letterboxd could plug into the paper’s film coverage or its games, though some loyal users may worry the app will lose its independent feel under a large media owner.

Reported by Variety, IndieWire. Compiled with AI tools.